LEJOG day 31: Old House to Standedge
Days since I was last hailed on: 0
The theme of today's section of the Pennine Way was very definitely "walking right on the edge of very steep drops in the wind". After rejoining the Way and crossing the reservoir at Crowden, I spent a good while climbing to find myself somewhat reluctantly creeping along a path just wide enough for my two feet above the kind of drop that makes the contour lines blur together. The wind of course blows up edges like that, which at least means it's blowing you onto the hill, but with a backpack that weighs a fifth your own body weight it felt a little precarious, so I spent quite a bit of it with one hand on the tiny bit of hill above me, half crouched and looking very gnome-like.
I was caught up with by a couple of very Yorkshire men (one of them called 'Arry) as I finally came down again, which was very well-timed as we crossed Great Crowden Brook together, meaning I had a hand to grab onto on the far side.
There were some more miles of limestone pavement across peat bog, punctuated by a hailstorm which came out of nowhere and soaked me through to the skin before disappearing just as suddenly, leaving me drenched and confused as it was still too warm for waterproofs. I got dried by the sun and a breeze just in time to climb down and then immediately up a valley for some more walking-along-the-edge-of-steep-drops-in-the-wind.
Despite eating two lunches and just as much breakfast as usual, this second round of "walking on the edge" was accompanied a bout of dizziness coupled with a feeling of general faintness and malaise and an overwhelming sense I was about to be sick. Like any good junior doctor faced with a diagnostic challenge, but with the means of treating only one of many possible conditions, I decided this was probably not having eaten enough - because all my other options couldn't be cured by eating any of the many snacks I've been carrying for six weeks. Happily on this occasion this worked well, as I'd have had a very long wait for a senior opinion.
In a few minutes' time I should be joined by the lovely Sarah- DofE survivor and leader extraordinaire and mad enough to join me to walk for the whole of her week off- who, being more sensible than me, will make sure I eat plenty of snacks over the next few days.
Distance walked: 14.4 miles
Time taken: 5h48
Percentage completed: 42.7%
Miles per £1 of boot: 4.11
Lunch: in two sittings: a ham salad sandwich, a cheese salad sandwich, a carton of Ribena and a packet of crisps- and, ten minutes after the second sitting, a four finger KitKat and several cola-flavoured Colin the Caterpillars
Last night's B&B: The Old House, near Crowden: breakfast was good, lunch reasonable, they drove me in to the nearest pub- but I was a little surprised to be in a room clearly set up for sharing with four bunks and a shower block at the end of the building.
Look at all that moor
...half an hour later I was soaked to the skin in a hailstorm
Definitely a shot from a horror film
The theme of today's section of the Pennine Way was very definitely "walking right on the edge of very steep drops in the wind". After rejoining the Way and crossing the reservoir at Crowden, I spent a good while climbing to find myself somewhat reluctantly creeping along a path just wide enough for my two feet above the kind of drop that makes the contour lines blur together. The wind of course blows up edges like that, which at least means it's blowing you onto the hill, but with a backpack that weighs a fifth your own body weight it felt a little precarious, so I spent quite a bit of it with one hand on the tiny bit of hill above me, half crouched and looking very gnome-like.
I was caught up with by a couple of very Yorkshire men (one of them called 'Arry) as I finally came down again, which was very well-timed as we crossed Great Crowden Brook together, meaning I had a hand to grab onto on the far side.
There were some more miles of limestone pavement across peat bog, punctuated by a hailstorm which came out of nowhere and soaked me through to the skin before disappearing just as suddenly, leaving me drenched and confused as it was still too warm for waterproofs. I got dried by the sun and a breeze just in time to climb down and then immediately up a valley for some more walking-along-the-edge-of-steep-drops-in-the-wind.
Despite eating two lunches and just as much breakfast as usual, this second round of "walking on the edge" was accompanied a bout of dizziness coupled with a feeling of general faintness and malaise and an overwhelming sense I was about to be sick. Like any good junior doctor faced with a diagnostic challenge, but with the means of treating only one of many possible conditions, I decided this was probably not having eaten enough - because all my other options couldn't be cured by eating any of the many snacks I've been carrying for six weeks. Happily on this occasion this worked well, as I'd have had a very long wait for a senior opinion.
In a few minutes' time I should be joined by the lovely Sarah- DofE survivor and leader extraordinaire and mad enough to join me to walk for the whole of her week off- who, being more sensible than me, will make sure I eat plenty of snacks over the next few days.
Distance walked: 14.4 miles
Time taken: 5h48
Percentage completed: 42.7%
Miles per £1 of boot: 4.11
Lunch: in two sittings: a ham salad sandwich, a cheese salad sandwich, a carton of Ribena and a packet of crisps- and, ten minutes after the second sitting, a four finger KitKat and several cola-flavoured Colin the Caterpillars
Last night's B&B: The Old House, near Crowden: breakfast was good, lunch reasonable, they drove me in to the nearest pub- but I was a little surprised to be in a room clearly set up for sharing with four bunks and a shower block at the end of the building.
Doesn't sound too good Louise. Hope it will get better
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