30/04/2007 by AOS.

Today’s stretch of the walk, tackled again in glorious weather, included spectacular views of Ennerdale Water; a near impossible climb up a steep gully carrying full packs, and a welcome cup of tea at the slate mine near Honiston Pass.

The overall distance covered was 18 miles, which was somewhat further than planned but was caused by taking a wrong turn at one point. Veronica and Eddie were not alone in this as other walkers did likewise, but all was OK in the end.

Veronica and Eddie again met many other walkers, not all doing the Coast to Coast Walk, but who were interested to hear about their reasons for doing it, and the AOS charity which will ultimately benefit. Veronica, as ever gave out information leaflets whenever anybody showed an interest.

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29/04/2007 by AOS.

They say that every journey begins with a single step, and so today Veronica and Eddie took that that all important move forward, to not only start the Coast to Coast Walk, but in so doing, realise a dream, an ambition that they have had for many years.

Veronica reports; day 1, “today we covered a distance of 13 miles from St Bee’s to Ennerdale Bridge encountering on the way other walkers who were very interested to hear of the work of the AOS and to whom I gave leaflets, not only outlining their work but also giving details of this website where they can find future updates of our progress.

We reached the summit of Dent Fell and lingered for a while looking back at, and taking a photograph of St Bee’s with the Isle of Man in the distance, and the Scottish highlands to our right. Of the other walkers we met, these included a couple all the way from Australia. The weather was excellent and we are exhilarated by finishing our first leg of the walk. Tomorrow we have a longer walk but go into it with confidence.

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28/04/2007 by AOS.

I spoke to Veronica this evening and she and Eddie were delighted by the welcome they received from Fr Aelred and the parishioners at St Mary’s Church, Kells, Whitehaven when they attended evening Mass. Fr Aelred spoke of the planned walk, and parishioners spent time with Veronica and Eddie after Mass and gave donations towards the sponsorship fund.

The weather today has been excellent and Veronica reports that there are six other walkers staying at the Guest House who are starting the walk tomorrow.

Look out for reagular updates in the days to come.

Tony McAvoy, AOS NE Regional Co-ordinator

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28/04/2007 by the walkers.

As we make our journey to St. Bees today for the start of the walk tomorrow, here are our reflections.

For the past 17 years, Eddie & I have being preparing for this day. It has always been our ambition to walk Alfred Wainwright’s Coast to Coast. All our other long distance walks from the Peddars Way in Norfolk, the Pendle Witches Way in Lancashire to St. Cuthbert’s Way (starting in Scotland) – all have been a preparation to test our stamina.

During that time, work, family, illness and other mundane considerations kept getting in the way. It therefore seems fortuitous that we are setting out on this journey in the centenary of Wainwright’s birth. We are very much looking forward to this our longest walk yet.

We hope you have enjoyed the blog so far, which is Part 1 of our journey; we hope we have given you a flavour of the lovely walks we have undertaken to get fit. No point in using the blog to give details of particular walks any map or walking book will already give you; better to get the feel of our preparation by giving a more personal summary.

And so dear reader, if you have enjoyed reading about our lovely unspoilt countryside, and wish to sample its delights, do come, but keep it a secret to yourself, oh heck, I forgot we are on the web. Oh well never mind, there is room here for all.

Doing the blog so far has helped to open our eyes wider to admire the beauty of creation. And our prayer for tomorrow is by Patrick Kavanagh.
‘O give us faith,
That we may be
Alive when April’s ecstasy
dances in every white-thorn tree’.

Veronica & Eddie

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26/04/2007 by the walkers.

We packed our rucksacks with what we wish/need to carry each day, squabbling about how much we should be taking or leaving out. Our idea was to walk from our home to Walltown Crags a steep climb about one mile or so away; rearrange the rucksacks if necessary, on the covered picnic tables next to the cafe, and hopefully get a good idea of the weight.

When we reached our intended destination we realized our plans were scuppered as all the tables were taken by a coach load of school children from Uttoxeter, Staffs. As it was, we were content with the weight, but our presence drew the attention of the children who were interested in the walk and charity. We left leaflets about the A.O.S. with them as we did with others we met on the very short walk.

Following this we decided to walk to nearby Thirlwall Castle This was built as a strong defensible home like the local bastle houses. Between 1300 and 1600 life in these parts was dangerous and unstable with cross-border raids or “reiving” between England and Scotland. The words bereave (from to reive) and ‘blackmail’ are now part of our language from these times. Although the castle in uninhabitable it is run by the Northumberland National Park which has enabled the Castle and its wildlife habitats to be conserved for visitors.

The newly opened Thirlwall Castle Farmhouse Tea-rooms was a welcome break and we sampled Tina Scott’s goodies on the return journey - all of three miles! Later we joined our good friends and neighbours Margaret and John Doherty who are driving us to St. Bee’s on Saturday for the start of our walk - their contribution towards the charity.

We are truly blessed with the number of well wishers and continual donations. Among those welcomed was a special card depicting the Our Lady Star of the Sea icon sent by Sheila Bailey and all the staff at A.O.S. head office. She ends with an old Irish saying:-
May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back; the sunshine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
Veronica.

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25/04/2007 by AOS.

I met with Veronica and Eddie for our final briefing meeting before they commence the walk next Sunday They are to be congratulated for the hard work and excellent preparation they have completed in advance of the walk and can be assured of our prayers and best wishes in the coming days.

Veronica and Eddie will attend Saturday evening Mass at St Mary’s Church, Kells, Whitehaven (where Fr Aelred and parishioners will make them welcome) before commencing the walk on Sunday morning.

Tony McAvoy, AOS NE Regional Co-ordinator

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22/04/2007 by the walkers.

Our last planned walk in preparation for next week’s coast to coast repeated a former walk we did before the blog was started in February. Living on the borders of Northumberland and Cumbria, most of our preparatory walks have been in the former, today’s walk was in the latter.

Talkin Tarn Country Park began our 12 miles circular walk today. Owned and managed by Carlisle City Council, they have spent over £1 million on improvements. The tiled toilet facilities even have showers and easy wheelchair assess. The name Talkin comes from a Celtic word and Tarn is a Norse word. The lake is a hive of activity with rowing boats (since the 1850’s) during the tourist season and the woodland walks are rich in wild life.
Our route took us on to a metallic road with a line of electricity pylons dominating the skyline, a mass of steel looking as if they were hung on top of three coat hangers. Not even the pine or spruce trees obliterated their ugliness. As we used the passenger footbridge over the Carlisle-Newcastle railway we were disappointed the train was late arriving as we missed the driver hooting to our waving by the sidings.

One hour later as we continued weaving our way round the fields and lanes, we were not very far from the start arriving at the town of Brampton. Well, it was the last day of our walking preparations, so why not look out for a coffee stop? Like Haltwhistle, Brampton has a reputation for Saturday coffee mornings. This morning’s was in the cobbled market square Moot Hall, now the Tourist centre. Brampton, near Carlisle, has had a market here since 1252 and continues to have one each Wednesday. The Moot Hall dates back to 1648 when Cromwell kept 40 prisoners in it. Today the friendly tea ladies greeted us with smiles and enquired about our walk. Not one to miss the boat, we fished out of our pocket the AOS charity leaflet with the blog address. They were au fait with blogging, remarking that they were tackled one of the Haltwhistle ring walks on Friday with the U3A. (The University of the Third Age). The coffee morning was held for the Methodist Mission and they promised to pray for our walk. What a lovely start to the day.

On we went to Gelt woods a fairy-land of nature and surprises. For thousands of years this ancient woodland has been served by the fast flowing river Gelt with its many mini waterfalls. It has sculpted and exposed the red sandstone like a work of art and many of the dwellings on the walk are made from this very sandstone. Indeed much of Brampton is built from stone recycled from the Hadrian’s Wall or from stone first quarried here. Two bird hides in the wood are based on roundhouse designs from Celtic times made from hazel and willow. The place is also home to the red squirrel.

Out of the woods we came across ploughed fields now and meadows prepared with seeds for the harvest. The daffodils are past their best and give way to red tulips; dandelions;ox-eye daisies; willowherb; St. John’s Wort and Marsh Marigold. While the apple and cheery blossom are in full bloom, the Japanese maple is just in bud.

We lunched on a bench at Castle Carrock opposite a pub called The Weary Sportsman; last time we wearily lunched on the picnic table at the pub, the angry owner berated us for not asking his permission despite the fact we failed to get a response to our calling out at the door. Our muddy boots prevented us from going inside and the place looked deserted.

A wedding party was just emerging from the nearby ancient church. The Lintel Gate, like the chauffeur driven Bentley car, was decorated with fresh flowers in keeping with the occasion. Apparently this was the first wedding in two years. Eddie said the party were welcome share our ‘butties’!

Leaving the ‘perfume’ of the huge herd of Jersey cows behind and the bleating of a pair of twin lambs, we arrived at journey’s end at the far end of Talkin Tarn with the canopy of beech trees overhanging the water’s edge. Again we had an opportunity to talk about the charity to a group of pensioners resting on the long sculptured bench by the jetty. The cafe above the boathouse with its balcony offering a beautiful view of the lake with its swans and mallards was our treat before we departed for home. Next walk - real thing.

P.S. Don’t forget to log into next blog due 26th April entitled “Dress Rehearsal”.

Veronica

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20/04/2007 by the walkers.

As both of us had afternoon appointments we decided on a shorter walk today - 6 miles. We were so familiar with the route it was a doddle. Parking the car in the centre of Haltwhistle we set off on a familiar walk known by locals as ‘up the burn’ towards another section of Hadrian’s wall. Haltwhistle is known as the centre of Britain. Why? Because the ancient civilisations, Egyptians, Greeks, Vikings and Romans usually situated the centres of their territories by calculating the mid point of the longest North/South axis, especially if other important mid points coincided. This title is contended by another town called Dunsop Bridge in the Rossendale valley, and the well known T.V. personality, Richard Hammond did a programme recently on this subject. The matter is still open to debate, you pays yer money and ye takes yer chances!

The Burn, leading towards the Roman wall at Cawfields, has recently been given a grant to refurbish the three bridges making it safer and easier for walkers. This very idyllic woodland walk by the river is within easy walking distance from the town car park and is used by local dog walkers and the Healthy Tuesday Walkers’ group. As we neared the Roman settlement where the auxiliaries had one of their camps we climbed our first stile and glancing back saw the first inkling of rain in the distance. The east wind was sharp but it did not affect the farmer on his quadbike bringing the nursing sheep more sustenance. There was even evidence of afterbirth among the new born lambs. The rain quickly caught up with us.

Presently we were walking along the vallum constructed by the Romans as extra defenses. In no time we had reached Melkridge camp site on the outskirts of the town with its few campers dotted round the perimeter. Traversing over fields we encountered cows grazing and to my horror our route took us between the herd. There was no alternative. A. Wainwright , the author of the Coast to Coast walk, was known to have such an aversion to the creatures, he would often travel by road to escape them. Preparing for our last big fund raising walk, St. Cuthbert’s way, a local farmer invited me to his cow shed to help with my ‘phobia’. He put me into the pen with young bullocks and then talked me through the experience. It did help. However just as we were on the last mile of our walk above town we were crossing the last field when a herd of young cows took more than a passing interest in us and headed towards us threateningly, a bull was bringing up at the rear. We retreated towards the gate at a steady pace so as not to frighten them. Then at a safe distance, we noticed they charged up the hill out of view giving us the opportunity to retrace our steps towards tour destination. Not ‘out of the wood’ yet we had to climb on to a small wall by the banking to avoid two horses blocking our path to the gate on to the roadside. Phew!

On entering the car park at the end of the walk, we were accosted by a lady waving frantically in recognition of us. This was Jean Norman who had met Tony (McAvoy) in Haltwistle recently and was curious to know about the A.O.S. sign on his car. She explained that she was not a Catholic but was now actively promoting the walk . Well done Jean. Her efforts, are like tiny ripples on the water……. Before we had climbed into the car for home, more acquaintances were approaching us wishing us well and pledging donations towards the walk.
Veronica & Eddie

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18/04/2007 by the walkers.

Since receiving delivery of several issues of the April edition of Anchor (the magazine for all volunteers and parish contacts of the A.O.S.) featuring the walk, they have been distributed in the most unusual places. To use the nautical term, I have been casting the nets in the deep.

Who would have thought one would have ended up in a garage forecourt shop or a large post office. Well they have. The large city post office is not our usual venue when we visit Carlisle, but on a rare trip there the friendly counter assistant enquired if we were walkers seeing my rucksack. Explaining that we had just purchased it for our charity walk, she became interested, (despite the queue) and in 30 seconds listened intently to an account of the need to support seafarers. “Do you have any literature?”, she enquired, and so the Anchor was handed over for her perusal.
Next evening I stopped for petrol at the local garage forecourt when the assistant asked if we were doing anything exciting, “Just wait”, I replied, running out to the car I retrieved a copy of Anchor, “You’re too busy to hear what I’m doing, but can read it at your leisure”, I replied.
Tomorrow I’m going to leave a copy at our Health Centre. Well the publicity may not raise much money, but it sure will put the A.O.S. on the Map.
Mentioning money, guess what, I understand, we already have £800 cash. Who says the people in the North East are not generous?
Veronica

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15/04/2007 by the walkers.

The car took us to the start of our circular walk today. We arrived in Allendale market square in bright sunshine and were puzzled at the scarcity of parking space. What was the event? What were the crowd of runners doing here so early? We were informed it was the Allendale Challenge, 20 miles of rough terrain to run. Well good luck to them but we were not planning to emulate them! Dropping down from The Kings Head Hotel we skirted the East Allan river with the sun shimmering in the trees, casting ghostly shadows on those not yet in bud. Not ten minutes into the walk we encountered a stray runner with a Dublin brogue. He wanted to consult us about the route the runners went as he was late. With a hasty thanks for the information received, he sprinted on. Our pace was much slower as we negotiated the stile by the woods and ascended into the fields above. Two hours later and we were still reaching for the heavens. Veronica found herself slowing up much behind Eddie who was setting the pace. Our progress in the past few weeks had been better. However the heat of the day and the hard continual uphill route was a struggle, but good practice for the real thing in two weeks time. The sun block was also in evidence today.

One stray newborn lamb ‘baaed’ her way towards us frolicking along. Much as we would like to have cuddled it, we were aware that to approach would mean the mother would reject it, so at the speed of lightening we managed to cross the wooden bridge just in time.

Presently we heard the rush of cascading water and all too soon were within sight of the beautiful waterfall near Sinderhope. Traipsing along the perimeter of the fall we settled down to our picnic listening to the gurgling waters gather momentum. Butterflies brush passed us almost kissing our cheeks. What bliss!
With a fuller stomach, Veronica was able to regain Eddie’s pace, just about. Soon we were up on to the moors, that vast expanse of desert with its harsh undergrowth. The burn scrub land yielded its new growth. What a symbol for Easter!

On and on we traveled in a well defined path, which was at times narrow and uneven under foot. The heat mist hovering over the moor adding to the sense of the mystical. A solo biker passed us negotiating an unforgiving steep incline with marvelous ease.
Eventually we returned to Allendale by the far end town. Like every journey, as soon as we got to the edge of the town we expected to arrive at the starting point much sooner.

A welcome cafe awaited us and we did not refuse its offer of a nice big pot of tea.
Veronica & Eddie

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