Wardey walks
Wainwright
The Charity Walk along the Coast to Coast Trail
Never in my wildest dreams
did I imagine that within
the space of four years I
would undertake two major
walks for charity and also
do another just for fun! This
has meant that I have now
walked over 500 miles for
the WWW project, raising
money for Hurstwood
Park Neurological Centre,
and believe me, what an
experience it has been.
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The latest project was the Coast to
Coast Trail, walking more than 190
miles from St Bees in Cumbria on the
west coast of England through the Lake
District and the Yorkshire Dales and
Moors, finishing at Robin Hood’s Bay on
the east coast by the North Sea.
My brother Simon, a friend Dave and
I drove to the Lake District in Globo,
my brother’s new Fiat camper van,
which was to be our base for the next
two weeks. I set off on the morning of
Sunday 31st August from St Bees and
hit the trail just before 8am - which was
to be the pattern for next 13 days.
Dave joined me for the first four days
through the incredible Lake District and
fortunately it was looking good as the
sun was shining and the area, which
can so often be unkind with rain and
searing winds, was being kind. In fact,
apart from one day when it drizzled, the
weather was incredible - somebody was
clearly looking after me!
Although at times the walking was
tough and my body was beginning to
creak, the scenery, particularly in the
Lake District, was extraordinary. This
also meant we could see the most
beautiful views in what is big country on
a huge scale.
When we arrived at the Dales and
Moors, at times I found myself walking
for over five hours, seeing nobody
apart from the odd sheep in huge aweinspiring landscapes so far removed
from my usual lifestyle and world. It
certainly gave me time to reflect on life
and the world we live in, which usually
just rushes past us all.
On the trail I often found others to walk
with and made friends with people
from all over the world - Australia,