I made the news!

In a very long career in the charitable sector I have been in the paper, or on local radio, many many times. I have even been on TV a few times!  But that media coverage has almost always been about the work - the projects we have been delivering or maybe a big grant that we have secured. Very very rarely has the news been about me personally - after all, who am I?

But on this occasion, while I was walking and talking, my team behind the scenes were squeezing every opportunity to get the story out into the local press. And what a fantastic job they did - look at all this!  Quite the celebrity....

 

Day 6 - Journeys End (Lyneal to Tilstock)

It had to happen - I could not be blessed with fine weather for the whole time and even before I drew the blinds on my bedroom window I knew it was raining. Not drizzle, not a sharp shower (why do we have so many descriptions for rain?) but a "set for the morning" sort of continuous downpour. Perhaps it would stop before we left the house? But no, Gwynfor and I set off for Tilstock Village Hall and it rained continually for the full 30 minutes. We had a ride to the Lyneal trust - another 20 minutes driving and still no respite.

The Lyneal trust is a wonderful project where people with disabilities can enjoy the experience the canal in one of their adapted barges. we have had a long relationship both as a funder but also as a customer, taking several of our groups on day trips for respite from their normal lives. I have seen several developments over the years and was keen to hear about the progress that had been made because of the most recent grant award we had made. Carol was there to greet me with several the other volunteers and the persistent rain gave me the opportunity to linger a little and hear their plans over a cup of coffee. But there was nothing for it, eventually I had to lead my walking buddies for the day out into the rain.

 

It wasn't all bad - we heard a very persistent cuckoo among a number of other lively birds on the mosses, and there was plenty of interesting buildings and boats along the route, but nowhere we could stop and have a dry lunch break until much further than planned.  

 

 

With two Welsh farmers in the group and the very flat terrain, we set quite a pace and arrived in Tilstock too early - none of my welcome party were there to greet me!  So we hid in a bus shelter and waited for the signal to "go!" before emerging to an enthusiastic crowd, a finishing line and warm welcome from the Lord Lieutenant Anna Turner, the charity's Patron. It could not have been a better end to the day, or indeed the trek.

Another 10.7 miles done. What will I do with myself tomorrow!!

Day 5 - Bishops Castle to Clun

Today our group of three regular walkers was joined by Christine, former High Sheriff, long-term supporter of Community Resource, and keen walker. 

It’s quite a long drive to Bishops Castle so by the time we arrived at the foodbank it was already almost 10.00am. I have worked closely with the foodbank over a couple of years and it was disappointing that Andy wasn't going to be there as he was taking a much-deserved holiday. But in his absence we were very warmly welcomed by the volunteers and fuelled for our journey with coffee and delicious home-made cake (every day should start with cake in my opinion!). 

It was a beautiful day and a very pretty walk with some interesting sights along the way. There were COWS (eek!) but with some judicious arm stretching and pole waving we managed to keep them at bay; and Gwynfor and I met a very chatty farmer halfway up a steep hill which enabled me to get my breath back (well, that's my excuse). 

Our halfway point was Mainstone the tiniest village (pop: 93) with the warmest of welcome, and there was lunch provided in the village hall. It was hard not to linger, and we still had a good distance to go, although we made time to stop and have a look inside the beautiful old church.

There was a lot more uphill from here and it was getting quite warm so it was quite the relief to be able to see Clun Castle emerging in the distance, even if it was still quite a long walk. 

It was even more of a relief to see Mary, one of our supporters emerge from the castle grounds to meet us and show us the way to where there was a little welcome party waiting for us. Unfortunately that day the delightful looking little cafe was closed but a couple of the group took pity on us and offered very welcome refreshment at their home. It was, of course, even further to drive home again so the smell of lasagne cooking when I opened the kitchen door was delightful after a very long day of over 12 miles of walking.

Roll on tomorrow - just one more day to go.

Day 4 - all the Ws and "retrospective fun"

It was a slow start to the day with the sat nav sending us first to a no entry sign and then trying to send us through the closed roads until we arrived "fashionably late" at the Ironbridge to start the walk. There was quite a posse waiting for us - members of the Ironbridge Lions, and Robin, one of my sponsors. As they were all locals I asked (hopefully) if anyone knew the way. Nope. Oh gawd, here I am, expected to lead a merry band of 10 with no clue where to start. It was a miracle we got on the right path at all!  However they were a very forgiving, jolly bunch and with all the chatting we whizzed past all the fabulous Coalbrookdale buildings with barely a second glance, out into open countryside heady with the scent of bluebells and wild garlic, following a mixture of Shropshire Way signs and Telford 50 signs. 

Just before we reached Little Wenlock we had the entertainment of sheep shearing 

before descending to the Village Hall and a very warm welcome with several familiar faces, and we were joined by members of "Wellington Walkers are Welcome".

"Where are you going from here?" I was asked and when I showed the route on my phone I was bombarded with advice of "better" routes to go. It was impossible to remember all the conflicting instructions so I decided to stick to the Plan and stay on the Shropshire Way - with hindsight, I probably should have listened....

The next part of the route was a KILLER but at least we had Naomi with us. She is the champion of that section of the Shropshire Way and responsible for making sure it is well waymarked and clear of obstacles and obvioulsy knows it in detail - how lucky was that?  She was a mine of information but as she was talking let slip that she was glad of the company because she "wasn't confident of climbing little hill by herself" which I thought was a rather curious thing to say.

Little Hill!  What a misnomer that turned out to be! It was a sheer upward route of about 900feet - and that wasn't even to the top of the Wrekin!  Some of our party decided to peel off at this point and walk round rather than up to the trig point - I didn't dare! But I certainly felt a lack of fitness and was glad to get to the top where we were joined by Simon, one of my Trustees.

From there it was downhill all the way and half way down Selina Graham, the current High Sheriff, was waiting to walk me down to Sunnycroft (kindly open just for me and my gang). 

On the way we shared stories of "retrospective fun". After all, that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger - and there is always a good story to tell afterwards!

Sunday!

Today was spent getting ready for a guest!  Gwynfor, a friend of many years now living in Anglesey, has decided to accompany me for the second half of my trek. It was a lovely warm afternoon and we arranged to have a barbecue. I hope this is a sign of the weather to come this week.

Saturday - rest day

I wake up to a beautiful day and am seriously tempted to go for a walk. But then I remember that this is a rest day and I should be taking it easy. It was a good decision, by 4.00pm I was feeling distinctly weary.

Day 3 - 13 (14) miles and 700 cows!

 

Today we started our walk as five - my walking buddy Gill and I were joined by Sarah from the Voluntary Sector Assembly and her husband, and Peter who was my Deputy when I first joined the charity. Peter had later gone to work for the Council with responsibility for footpaths and in particular, the Shropshire Way. He knew the route like the back of his hand and was a wealth of information - how lucky was that!

The first part of our route took us to Hadnall where we had a choice of rest stops, the pub or the village hall, except neither was open.

So we plonked ourselves on the benches outside the pub and ate our lunch. Peter left us here to cycle back to Shrewsbury (having planned ahead and parked a bike in the village) while we went and persuaded the playgroup at the village hall to let us use the facilities. Now that we had lost our navigator I thought we should take advantage of the nice carpeted floor to lay out the map and reccy our route. BIG mistake!

It was a good half a mile on before I suddenly realised I had left my phone inside the hall and I had no choice but to go back for it. Scouts pace was called for but it still took a good 20 minutes there and back. Fortunately the playgroup was still in residence!

Our next hold up was on the Sansaw estate where my carelessness meant we co-incided with a parade of cows on their way to milking. 700 of them! And, as curious as ever, us watching just slowed them down, and then we had a chat with the herdswoman.

My plan had been to call in to an alpaca farm, which is in the ownership of another former colleague, Caroline, but by now we had lost so much time it was no longer possible. I called her and arranged to meet her en route and she would walk the last stretch with us to Wem. 

But somehow we missed her. The last part of the walk was particularly tedious, walking into a residential area and with only intermittent footpaths we had to keep crossing the road. 

Wem Town Hall had stayed open especially for me and was a very agreeable sight. And even better, there was a little welcome party with Caroline, and Carol from Wem Town Council and Lyneal. 

We will meet Carol again next week, but for now I am looking forward to a restful weekend to recharge my batteries.

Day 2 - Oswald's Trail - well, almost

 

It was all going so well.... after being a bit wet yesterday, I was delighted to wake up to bright sunshine and felt very energised. Just two of us walking today and we set off from the QUBE in Oswestry with a spring in our step, joking about sunglasses and stripping off layers. 

The first stretch was a bit tedious - house upon house in a residential area with some "interesting" taste in decor but very few road names. As a result we missed our turning and had to walk back on ourselves. No matter, within a short while we were out into open countryside and from here the route was fairly well waymarked. 

It was quiet, not many people about and the trees and views from Llanforda estate were glorious. Time for a lunch break under a fine old beech tree, before arriving at the old racecourse.

At the entrance to the rather spooky wood there is a map of the trail and while we were looking at it, a chap told us he had walked it about 6 times but he always misses the housing estate bit out (bit late to tell us that now, mate!). 

The old racecourse is pleasantly flat, easy walking and we were looking for a waymarked footpath to the right. It didn't appear and eventually we found ourselves on a quiet road where a police car stopped in front of us. Now, I am not sure if it is the sign of a mispent youth or a guilty conscience but my first thought was "what are we doing that we shouldn't be?". He just wanted a chat but he showed us where we were on our map, not at all where we thought and we had actually walked round in a big loop. 

There is nothing more demoralising than walking back over the same route and as we hadn't found the footpath the first time, and were in danger of not doing so again, we decided to go off the route and walk down the road to pick up the track further along. 

Wow, the traffic shoots along that road and even with a pavement it felt as though we would be pulled out by the slipstream. It was a relief to reach the track and turn left. 

We looked for the footpath sign, we really did, but how could we know that the people building that enormous house overlooking the lake had taken down the sign (or covered it up)? It was a good half mile further before we realised, by which time we had already walked 11 miles and were running out of enthusiasm, energy and time (my walking buddy had an evening shift to get back for). And so, dear reader, we had to admit defeat. We walked to the next proper road, called for our backup transport and went home, without closing the loop. We will save that for another day.   

Day One - waving, rain and so much cake!

I could not have asked for a better send off with staff and colleagues from other voluntary sector organisations waving me off and making some noise! 

And there was more to come at Meole Brace Primary School where half the school seemed to be waiting for me, whooping, cheering and chanting “J-U-L-I-A! .. J-U-L-I-A!” 

It was a taste of celebrity and just the boost we needed as it started to drizzle with rain.

On then to Bayston Hill village hall for coffee, cake and a reunion with a former employee. This is a hall I have visited a number of times over the years and a true exemplar of what can be achieved when the community pull together. They don’t rest on their laurels, they have even more plans for the future which I heard about during a brief tour before venturing back out into the rain.

More coffee and cake awaited us at Condover Village Hall where we saw the amazing improvements they have made with a grant from our national organisation, ACRE. They even had radiators where we could dry our raincoats.

The weather improved and we made it to Dorrington for one more coffee and cake before our driver took us back to Shrewsbury. 

Just enough time for a shower before an evening of cocktails with an old friend which was quite the perfect end to the day.

Day one - the prologue

I have a restless night and rise early. Am I a little nervous? Yes, I guess so although goodness knows why, I have been in much more stressful sitations, many times.

I wake to find that it is raining - not lashing down, stair rods rain, but the gentle drizzle that you hardly notice until you suddenly realise that you are soaked through. It was not what I was hoping for so I rethink what I am going to wear today. I listen hopefully to the weather forecast but its not great: "sunshine and showers" - but not really better until "after lunch". 

My phone has been pinging for the last five minutes with messages from my staff wishing me luck and I wonder what the day ahead holds. Phone  ready, selfie stick  charged and I have reminded myself how it works. My lunch is made, my day sack is packed ..... 

I'm ready. I can do this.

Anxiety no. 1 - will there be cows?

I have an aversion to cows - well bullocks, cows, or anything that looks bovine really. I find it especially alarming when I come cross them blocking my way as I can only recall stories of people being trampled to death by them. Perhaps its irrational - after all, if they were truly dangerous they wouldn't be allowed in fields with footpaths .... would they? My instinct is not to take the risk, even if the alternative is to climb over barbed wire to get away from them. 

But what will I do if I have people with me? I have been told that the way to tackle it is to stand with your arms wide and to make yourself look as big as possible. Not sure how that helps but hopefully it's advice I won't need.