The Challenge finally begins!

Where it began...

So I received an email from Velindre cancer centre fundraising in August announcing their new appeal to walk 500 miles! My family know only too well that this was our anthem when we finished the coast path walk in 2014 so it may become so again! (Coastal walk 2013-2014) It was a challenge I decided I had to take and Chris, my walking (and life!) partner agreed we should accept the challenge and that's where this new walk began. Since August we've tried to make a start but as we all know only too well, making plans this year has been rather more difficult than we all expected! Sadly the charities which need to survive on voluntary donations have been hit very hard by this year's lockdowns and so I feel especially the need to raise some money if we can. I hope you may be able to help, if only a little. My justgiving page is: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/pamela-mallpress2020 

Having not done quite as much walking as maybe I should have over recent months (and due to bad knees and joints!!), we had a couple of warm up walks earlier this week in the hills behind us to kickstart the mileage....

Here are a few pics to start with of the walks. We did 7 miles on the 4th.

...and we're off!!

It was a lovely, bright day as we began. Maybe not the best time to start a long walk but still lots to see in the beautiful countryside...fungi galore for one thing...


And we are so lucky with the hills so close...


It makes the walking easier for sure!
This day we made it as far as a little pond that we don't know the name of but it's gorgeous...especially on a day like it was that day!

We could even see Pen-y-Fan today....


And then we made 6 miles on the 7th November..... 


It was a much more Autumn like day with mist and mellow fruitfulness. We have had a beautiful, colourful Autumn this year for sure.

Today we went up the hills the other way round but still with marvellous views, even better in a way through the mist..

Of course it's also dropping dark much earlier at this time of the year so walking time is also cut shorter. But again that makes for some dramatic scenes too...


Before I continue, I'll just share with you the places we're planning to walk. Some we've done before, some are new to us. We know we're enjoying our hobby of walking but if we can raise some funds for a wonderful cause too, all the better. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/pamela-mallpress2020
Hope you'll enjoy reading about them too!
Wye valley walk - 136 miles
Borth to Strath Florida - 45 miles
Cardigan Bay (parts of) - 70 miles
Pembrokeshire coastal path (part of) - 60 miles
Mortimers Way - 50 miles
Kerry Ridgeway - 15 miles
Glyndwr's Way (parts of) - 60 miles
Offa's Dyke (parts of) - 60 miles

We do have plenty of substitutes if necessary! We could even just walk around our favourite local horseshoe walk 42 times and it would be done!!

So next is to walk a little way on the Glamorgan coast and also a section on the Gower as Wales' "firebreak" lockdown ended today! We had planned these walks in September but had to cancel as there were local lockdowns in south Wales so we are now really excited to be taking up the baton and starting the challenge and hopefully making some donations to Velindre possible.

Watch this space!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

21st June, 2022 - Poppit Sands to Cemaes Head

Image
We had thought that today we would complete the walk from Ceibwr Bay to Poppit sands but as it was if anything hotter today than yesterday and we had a 2 and a half hour journey back to our house afterwards, we decided just to walk from Poppit to Cemaes and back. So having checked out from a really great stay, definitely recommendable at the Trewern Arms , we parked up at Poppit in hot sun!! Off we set up the road back to the coast path. And here was Gate number 1! Don't beleive that was there 8 years ago.... Did remember the farm we had to pass through and loved the quotes on his barn doors... hope you can read them.... Michael and Chris waited patiently! Once we were at the top, it was beautiful to look down on Cardigan Island and Mwnt peeping over with the Llyn in the distance! It was quite useful finding these viewpoints with a handy rock to enjoy it from! And there was the view back down to Poppit sands.... Think Jill and I could be sitting there still! Perfect place... But ti...
Read more

29th July - Borth to Aberystwyth

Image
We're so lucky that our eldest granddaughter, Abigail, agreed to walk with us today! It's so lovely that they live quite close to us now. She sorted out the train tickets for us last week so off we set by 7.30 to catch the 9.30 train from Aberystwyth to Borth. It was a busy train again as the Barmouth one had been, this one was headed for Birmingham. We decided that as part of the 500 challenge, we would choose some coastal path walks to redo but this time walking north to south. On our first Wales Coast path challenge in 2013-2014, we had walked south to north...( Wales Coast Path walk )                                             The driver and guard were very friendly and helpful with everyone, quite impressed by them. Before long we arrived in Borth (announced as Dovey Junction which was a little disconcerting had we not recognised where we were). Off we set to walk along th...
Read more

29th May, 2022 - West Bay, Bridport

Image
 As part of a little roadtrip we had arranged 2 years ago to see The Killers in Southampton, we had booked a couple of nights in Dorset, staying at Little India , an air B and B run by a lovely lady. We haven't explored Dorset except for Weymouth in search of family trees, so decided we could add a walk to our target mileage too! And what a lovely walk it was. From the b and b, it was a walk through ancient woods, once containing lime kilns and a quarry which had actually closed in the 1920's and then reopened briefly in the '50's I think, but is now a nature reserve.  We continued the walk through some residential roads and approached the sea via an old railtrack, now a path but once at the coast, the rail is there complete with a train coach cafe! The beach is the westernmost end of Chesil beach and the view of the bay from there was beautiful! A jetty, originally the big harbour for Bridport, at one end and the Jurassic coast beyond....   We could easily see as fa...
Read more