I have the Internet Again!

Finally, after having moved house around a month ago, and after having confirmed that BT are indeed the most dis-organised organisation on the planet - I have the internet at home!

After clearing out the links to dodgy sites which had accumulated in my comments section, the first thing I did was to upload my photographs for Team Bandicoot on the Hadrians Walk. Rather than bore you with them all, you can go to see them here on my Flickr page.

I thought I ought to post up the picture from the start of the walk (incidentally, only one of our party started in the sea, having been the only one who could be bothered to wade through the mud):

Bowness on Solway

Left to right: The Sergrant Major, The Tank, Me, Lucy, The Nurse, The City Worker, Katie, Will, Mike (who incidentally never looks at the camera), Alex, Mark (Buff creator), and the Artist (in distance).

I think probably my most favourite shot from the walk has to be this one, taken on the way into Houghton North Farm:

Fields of Gold (ish)

And here we are at the end, substantially more sweaty, and with a fair few more blisters:

Wallsend

Left to right: The Artist, The City Worker, Me, Mark, Alex, Will, Lucy, Katie, The Nurse, Mike, the Sergeant Major, the Tank (Front - DNF).

Thanks to everyone who took part, it was a great week and I think we may be able to turn it into a annual event. Particular thanks goes to our mobile Podiatrist who followed us the who breadth of the country - keeping the team going with foam padding, strapping and cans of Carlsberg.

Julia - Our Mobile Podiatrist

Some Training for Bandicoots

I am sitting here with a not insignificant headache, trying to keep my eyes open after driving back from the Lake District. Two potential members of Team Bandicoot took Lucy and I scrambling up 'Jacks Rake', a short route very close to a part of the Cumbria Way a few weeks ago.

I have been informed that my compact camera is un-repairable after coming into a fair amount of contact with a rainwater / dissolved boiler sweets concoction. Therefore not wanting to risk my DSLR in the rain, I must resort to stealing images from the internet:

Tomorrow however, I have agreed to go with some other potential members (or at least they will be by the end of the day), to North Yorkshire to complete the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge!

Its a 23 mile circular route over three of the highest peaks in the Yorkshire Dales (Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough) and is supposed to be completed within 12 hours. Wikipedia calls it 'gruelling'. 'Gentle' or 'easy peasy' or 'like a large cuddle from a giant marshmallow' were the descriptive sentences I was hoping to read.

To make things worse (as well as the forecast for drizzle all day) is that one of the guys I am going with is a little bit hardcore and far, far fitter than me, like really fit. Like 'I've done a tour of Afghanistan' fit. 

This would be OK in itself ... except that he told me that he wants to complete the circuit as fast as he can. 

I should have told him, 'thats fine but when you get to the end can you get a round in?', but I think he expects me to do the same (and I am slightly scared of him).

I have this ominous feeling in my stomach tonight. 

I am off to get myself a power curry!

Team Bandicoot Update

Its kind of a little pointless writing this as the majority of my limited readers (limited in number, not in their reading ability) are also readers of my brother's site over at All That Comes With It so will probably be aware of what I am about to write. 

Dan has blown cover and announced that in July of next year we will be taking on a six day hike across the Hadrians Wall in the north of England. The walk, for the Joseph Salmon Trust will commence in Bowness on the West coast and will wind its way along Hadrians Wall taking some quite dramatic scenery and some historical sites along the way.

For the walk we have decided to et up two teams. Mainly because we want to be able to raise as much money as we can for the charity, which means having a large group of participants hassling a lot of non participants. However in terms of group size we are limited by the range of accommodation available along the way. So Dan will go with one group (randomly named Oscelot) from East to West, whilst I try to organise another from West to East to ease the burden on hostels etc. The groups will meet in the middle on the third day for a healthy game of rounders or perhaps a bacon butty or two.

I was actually planning not to tell my group about some of the bunk-houses and inform them that they were going to have to camp, but that has kind of fallen through now, so I am going to have to relent and allow a few walk comforts.

The team name 'Bandicoot' has been inherited for the West to East rabble for reasons unknown to me, though I think I am happy to stick with it as it took us nearly two weeks to come up with a pub quiz name (and the Nurse ended up getting that from the internet) so having a name ready decided will relive a little stress.

So, what now. Oh - we need some walkers! Dan (envying my initial recruitment joy) has already made moves to try to push for 'Oscelot' membership via his extensive readership, and by the looks of his recent comment list is doing pretty ok with it too!

I do have one trump card however. I work in an an environmental consultancy full to the brim with twenty somethings who thought it would be a good idea to do an environmental science degree thinking that this would lead to lots of exciting work outdoors. Then they joined a consultancy and had their hopes buried at their desk in a large pile of Environmental Permit Supporting Documentation and Environmental Management System Procedural Guidance. Hence, frustrated walking / climbing types are in abundance!

I plan that to be my recruiting ground.

For any who haven't seen it, the walk website has been set up by Dan here, and here is a parting picture of Hadrians Wall (as stolen from the internet):