Friday 29 February 2008



27th February 2008 - 19 weeks to go + 5.7m = 29.7 miles

The second of the 3 Peak Squad Evening Walk - this time organised by Will. Another clear night too, about 4 degC but no sign of the moon so pretty dark.

Those who made it: Me, Will D, Shawn T, Nicki Y, Rich H, Paul J and Chris F.

I got completely disorientated once we got into Bourne Woods and thought we must be walking away from Farnham completely but Will took us on a circular tour, we even crossed over our path but no-one noticed. Stopped for a quick pint at The Spotted Cow (except Nick and Rich who carried on homeward bound). There were a few steep sections which thankfully didn’t last too long but I guess I’m going to have to get used to this…

Half way round the woods three guys on bikes come tearing past with halogen lights shining out the way as they fly down a really steep and winding path in the pitch black….!
The new boots seem to stand up to the pace, 5.7m in about 1 ½ hours, with only a bit of rubbing around the ankles. Shawn’s limping by the end of the walk - I think his new boots are causing him a little bit of trouble.

Little bit of torch envy too - Will’s head torch is much brighter than mine…. Hhmm £9.99 from Argos might not have been such a good deal after all.

Jane’s Mum bought me a pedometer today as an early birthday present so have given it an outing and have now calibrated it based on the number of steps taken and the total estimated mileage.

One other thing I didn’t bank one - sweating a lot in the cold is causing my glasses to constantly steam up and is a bit of a pain in the dark.

Sunday 24 February 2008


23rd February 2008 + 6 = 24 miles

Time to go out again. Early morning walk this time. I’ve suggested an evening walk route from the train station to the top of Crooksbury Hill and back, it’s about 6 miles but it occurs to me that having suggested this I should really check how do-able it is….

Get up and out by 8 o’clock to try to avoid taking the whole day! It’s a lovely morning, not too cold for February and go out in t-shirt and fleece. I only meet five other people while out but get to Crooksbury Hill in 45 minutes. 5 minutes to climb and am rewarded with great views over the surrounding countryside. There’s a pillar at the top with a brass plate that shows distances to local and far landmarks (Farnham Castle, Windsor Castle, St Paul’s Cathedral - you know the sort of thing….) but the orientation of it throws me out completely - Farnham Castle seems to be the wrong direction but I suspect that they’re probably right and I’m just disorientated. Five minute rest and then a walk back. Overall, it takes me 1 hr 50 minutes to complete from door-to-door so it seems to be a good length for an evening walk. My only concern is the Crooksbury Road section which is pretty hairy as there is no pavement or verge and the cars tend to fly down it. Hopefully it won’t be too busy at night and having all the torches will be a good thing!

In the afternoon we go down to Gunwharf Quay in Portsmouth and I buy my new boots, over trousers, back-pack, jacket and whistle from Tog 24.….

Wednesday 20 February 2008


19th February 2008 + 6 = 18 miles

I’ve bought a great book “40 Walks around Farnham of 4-6miles” - just what we need to organise walks.

The inaugural walk in the Evening Walks programme.

A clear crisp night and a full moon too make it a great night to walk (torches at the ready though).
Those who made it: Me, Nicki Yelland, Michele Taylor, Dave Hyland, Nick Conway and Kate Jones.
We start at Castle Street, go up Old Park Lane, Middle Park Lane (double back after realising we went round in circles), over the ridge and down to Crondall Lane where we crossed over and climbed to the top of a filed to be rewarded with views right over the top of Farnham. From there we walked down Waynflete Road and back to the town. Total walk 5.5 miles and it took us from 20:15 to 22:05. Not a bad start! By the time we walked to town and back clocked up 6 miles. Oh yeah, and we find a Production Script for filming for the following day for the TV programme “The Peep Show” - strange things found # 01.…



Monday 18 February 2008

11th February to 17th February 2008

Wiped out by a stomach bug - no way I can get out and about this week, feel rotten.

Sunday 10 February 2008

10th February 2008
+ 3 = 12 miles

I’ve bought a laminated OS Map of Farnham and around. Start walking training - go for an hour’s quick walk from our house, along Lynch Road, down Moor Park Road and up the other side, onto the North Downs Way to Runfold Woods and back, about 3 miles. I bump into Rob Owen at the top of Moor Park Road - he’s bought his boots and is trying to break them in. I leave him in Runfold Woods with directions to Crooksbury Hill and have to turn around as we’re going over to Jane’s Mum’s this morning and need to get back.

Friday 8 February 2008

7th February 2008 - 22 Weeks to Go
Meeting at The Lamb, 8pm.


Andy quietly drop into the meeting that the 24hrs stops at the bottom of Snowdon and not the top as we’d all thought, effectively taking 3 hours off the clock. Oh joy. I think most people have missed this. Never mind, apparently it’s better to concentrate on doing it in “a weekend” or “back-to-back” - you can’t control delays from traffic jams or anything anyway.
We agree to set up a series of weekly evening walks for everyone / anyone to come along on (about 2 hours each) and for monthly long walks starting early Saturday mornings and ending at a pub after about 8-10 miles.

Saturday 2 February 2008

2nd February 2008

Better think about getting fit - get bike out and cycle to Alice Holt and back , going around the family trail a few times.

About 9 miles in all, 2 hours. Total - 9 miles