A Saturday this time round for our second walk and a new route for us all to follow - February route
An early start meant (well, was supposed to mean) that we would be finished by just after lunchtime...and so it was our two teams ended up outside the Shoe Inn in Exton around 9am on a cold, but thankfully dry Saturday morning in February.
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| On the South Downs Way - half-way up Beacon Hill |
Our route was to take us along the Western path of the South Downs Way and the first steps off of the road in the village was the indicator of what was to come...a short slope covered in mud! A trek up Beacon Hill ensued, but thankfully a hill means little boggy ground!
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| View from the top of Beacon Hill |
The view from the top was great and reminded us why we're doing this!
Walking along the ridgeway we made good time thanks to good farm tracks before we headed off from the South Downs Way onto the Wayfarers Way north towards Kilmeston and Hinton Ampner. Dropping down into the valley meant a return to the muddy footpath and, on reaching Kilmeston, the boggy field filled with horned cows! Onwards and along the path towards Hinton Ampner House was again boggy and considerably muddy, our first break was to be at the house for a deserved rest, relief and food! We were a little behind time but keen to make up the time again on the ridge.
On reflection, I definitely needed more liquid...on reading the literature now a few days after, it states that around 400-600ml per hour...I had that for the full walk! Note to self...trawl ebay for a good camelbak!
However, rested we pushed eastwards out of Hinton and along more sodden tracks and bridleways...oh for a horse! We changed the route slightly to get onto the road a little earlier and help our tired feet on the way to West Meon. Another boggy forest track led to another road, but not before we had the surprise of our life. Whilst walking past a little farmhouse, we were spooked by something flying at us through the hedge! Lo and behold, there was a tiny puppy who had found his way through a hole...eager to greet us, he made his way sniffing muddy trousers and boots, before disappearing back through the hole again! Hearts were pounding a little quicker for a few minutes!
On down the hill into West Meon and, after a brief stop at the Post Office so I could stock up on a quick flavoured drink and some flapjacks (yummy by the way) then we broke a little further down the road in the bus stop. Boots off for some, a nice seat to rest weary bones and plenty of snacks consumed (bananas and peanut butter sandwiches for me) and a time to reflect where we were in the walk (about 3 1/2 hours in...a little further behind than planned!).
After a good rest, we headed off towards East Meon before turning south up towards Meon Springs Fishery, situated on the South Downs Way below Old Winchester Hill. A long slog up hill eventually gave us a view over the valley down to the Fishery and to our next goal, the radio mast on top of the Downs. A steady wander down the road and across a farm road brought us back to the South Downs Way and the uphill challenge. And what a challenge it was...thankfully mainly chalk meant it wasn't boggy at all, but still it was hard on the legs...more fool the cyclists going the other way...at least they had gravity on their side though! More bog at the top but we'd made it and were back on top of the Downs!
We'd been walking for about 5 1/2 hours now and fatigue still hadn't set in (although there was a lack of water and certainly my feet were very sore!). Still, onwards and upwards to the Nature Reserve at Old Winchester Hill meant we only had downhill to Exton left. After a brisk 30 minutes we made it to the top and then wandered round the old hill fort and started our descent (and what a descent it was!). Finally we had made it to level ground and we knew (or thought we did) that we were on the easiest leg! With a little over 5km to go, we encountered some walkers coming the other way saying that the lower path was flooded and we might need to take a detour! Flooded...that's nothing to what we had been through in the last 6 hours!
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| Kaila hitting the deck with her bum! |
Again, thinking that was the last of it, we wandered on with a little over 2km to go...to be thrown a final problem. The river had flooded the path and there was no way round...except for escaping across country and dicing with a small river crossing on logs (sounds more dramatic than it was). A great effort from all concerned (particularly in Barbed Wire holding) meant we finally reached the A32 and the road into Exton!
Back to the cars and a final celebration of the 7 1/2 hours walking together (and a great pic of the boots caked in mud!). A quick pint at the pub before the journey home allowed us to reflect on the day (long & tiring but rewarding nonetheless). 34km in 7 1/2 hours meant we averaged just under 5km an hour...translated to the full Trailwalker 100km means a time of about 24 hours...right on track!
Well done to all of us and looking forward to stepping up the extra 5 miles again...although let's hope for less boggy tracks!
To make the pain a little easier for us, we'd be grateful if you would sponsor us at the following website...http://www.justgiving.com/Trekkers-R-Us
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