Barry & Mike's Coast to Coast

The day after...

2010-05-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

We are both delighted to have managed to complete the Coast to Coast and raise some money for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. We would like to thank everyone for tuning into our blog and supporting us both every step of the way. This support has been invaluable in helping us through the difficult stages we encountered.

We would like to say a special thank you to the following people:

. Sue (wife/mother) and Mary (mother-in-law/grandmother) for being our support crew during the walk.
. All friends and family of Barry and Michael who have provided sponsorship.
. Everyone from the Fire Safety Engineering Group (FSEG) at the University of Greenwich for their support and sponsorship.
. Everyone from Lloyds TSB Commercial Finance for supporting and sponsoring us and the guys in the IT department who loaned us the kit to allow us to produce our blog.
. Everyone at Emmanuel Church in Greenwich who sponsored us.
. Mary, the proprietor of the Postgate Farm B&B (where we stayed in Glaisdale) who was a complete stranger when we first met her, but who sponsored us immediately without even being asked.
. Clare Trevorrow from the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation for providing help and support along the way.

In addition, we would like to give a brief mention to some of the B&B owners on our Coast to Coast which went that extra mile during our very short stays:

. Stonethwaite; Knotts View: lovely B&B, very accommodating and helpful.
. Patterdale; Grisedale lodge: Really friendly owners, carried our bags to our rooms, dried our boots, provided tea and cake on arrival, give advice for the walk, very high quality B&B.
. Glaisdale; Mary (Postgate Farm) & Sandra (The Red House). First rate B&B, very reasonably priced, excellent accommodation.

We did this walk in memory of Rob Disspain, Barry's brother in-law and Michael's Uncle, who despite succumbing to lung cancer in 2009, managed to live such a full life. Though he is gone, he is very much in our thoughts.

Day 12:Glaisdale to Robin Hood's Bay, 19 miles (30.5km)

2010-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, the last day of our marathon walk has finally arrived. Nineteen miles left until we would be splashing around in the North Sea at Robin Hoods Bay.

The day started with Breakfast at 08:00AM, fairly late for us, but on the last day we both felt we deserved a bit of a lie in. Having devoured the excellent breakfasts on offer at "The Red House" and "Postgate Farm" (one of us stayed at The Red House and the other at Postgate Farm - we didn't eat two breakfasts each), we commenced the days walking at 09:15AM. The weather, as usual, was perfect for walking and the route was quite friendly at first. However, this was to change when we reached Grosmont where we encountered a massive hill, gradient was 30% for most of it and it went on and on ...... and on and on. Well over a mile of it.

After that, everything was fairly straightforward, walking mainly across moorland, quite boggy, but not too bad.

The final section of the walk involved fairly easy clifftop walks around the Robin Hoods Bay area, culminating in a steep descent into the charming little village of Robin Hoods Bay, where we wasted no time in completing our mandatory "paddle" in the North Sea, then obtaining a pint from the conveniently located Bay Hotel.

So, we've done it. No walking at all tomorrow. At the end of it all, Michael still seemed fit enough to commence the return trip back to St Bees. Barry?, well, maybe not quite so fit.

That's just about it for the blogs now, apart from one final posting tomorrow, where we'll attempt to thank everybody who has been so kind to us during the walk, and we'll be mentioning various B&B's we've stayed in where we've received exceptional service, courtesy and value for money.

Before setting off on the final day ....

A pleasant riverside view

A moorland element of todays walk, with a welcome view of the sea in the background.

Don't jump Michael ..... Michael on the cliffs about a mile out of Robin Hoods Bay.

Our destination, Robin Hoods Bay - about 1/2 mile away.

Finished .... The final ritual, paddling in the sea at Robin Hoods Bay

A group photograph - James, Barry, Michael, Jim, Ian - all coast to coasters, together with Jim's children.

Michael's iPhone/GPS zoomed out screenshot of our final location (admittedly taken the following morning :P)

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Day 11:Clay Bank Top to Glaisdale, 20 miles (32km)

2010-05-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Day 11 started at 7:30AM prompt, with an early departure from Clay Bank Top (Chop Gate, actually, we still needed to walk another mile or so to get to Clay Bank Top). The weather was again kind, bright and cool, following a good deal of rain overnight.

The walk itself was very long and tedious. Not a great deal to look at, and the quality of many of the paths were very poor indeed. A long morning session was punctuated by a short break at the Lion Inn at Blakely Ridge, followed by yet another long tedious afternoon session.

We finally arrived at our destinations in Glaisdale at around 3:15PM. (Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are staying at different B&Bs tonight - but what a result! Both B&Bs offer en-suite bathrooms with BATHS. What a luxury).

It's the last day of the walk tomorrow. Another 19 miles from Glaisdale to Robin Hoods Bay.

A welcome sight, Lunch approaches (The Lion Inn at Blakely Ridge)

Noooooooo!!..... Not another fryup

Only six more miles to go .....

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Day 10:Ingleby Cross to Clay Bank Top, 12.5 miles (20km)

2010-05-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

This morning we set off (around 8:45AM) in high spirits as we knew that we only had a relatively short distance to cover and this was the first time we would be walking in the Yorkshire Dales. Luckily our feet had mostly recovered from yesterday's 'fun' and we were looking forward to a leisurely walk. Whilst the route included some mild ascents/descents, for the most part this was a reasonably enjoyable day with some nice views.

View from the Cleveland Way

A little rain around midday made the already cooling breeze a bit cold and both of us donned our waterproof jackets for a short time. The rain didn't last long and we arrived at Beak Hill farm (a small farm about 1km from the main trail) at around 2:20PM to a roaring log fire.....and no phone reception with O2 or Orange! We were however, pleasantly surprised to find that the Vodafone 3G dongle that we use for the laptop to connect to the Internet could pick up a signal.

Barry 'loves' hill walking

Michael's handy Hazmat suit for biological attacks

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Day 9:Richmond to Ingleby Cross, 23 miles (37km)

2010-05-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, today was the 23 miler we've been dreading ever since we started the coast-to-coast walk. We left our superb guesthouse in Richmond at 7:15AM after a massive Breakfast (Full English, again).

The weather was very kind again, slight drizzle and overcast, so we were never likely to get burnt to a cinder today. The walk itself was pretty boring and uneventful, really. Nothing really spectacular to look at, just 23 miles of rather tedious plodding. Looking on the bright side, this just spurred us on to increase our pace and get the walk finished. We arrived at our new lodgings around 3:40PM - much earlier than we'd expected.

Tomorrow is a much friendlier day, just 12.5 miles or so. So, assuming our calf muscles have recovered, we are expecting a fairly comfortable walk.

Richmond Castle

Barry exits the Jungle

Michael in motion

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Day 8:Reeth to Richmond, 11 miles (17.5km)

2010-05-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

A civilized breakfast at 8:00AM allowed us to leave our comfortable lodgings in Reeth at just before 9:00AM for the 11 mile walk to Richmond (Yorkshire, not London). The weather today was much kinder - still sunny, but with a gentle cool breeze for the duration of the walk. The walk itself was very pleasant, passing through acres of farmland before eventually arriving on a hill high above Richmond. A leisurely descent saw us reach our destination lodgings at about 12:45PM, long before our "support team" had arrived and before our very hospitable landlady had managed to prepare our rooms. We reassured her that there was no hurry, dumped our kit, and adjourned to the adjacent Wetherspoons pub to contemplate the days walk with a couple of fellow "Coast-to-Coasters".

Tomorrow is a big day, 23 miles to cover. We can't leave our lodgings until after we've eaten the mandatory "Full English Breakfast", so we'll be starting at about 8:00AM. Hopefully the weather will be kind again. Dry with a light breeze will do nicely.

Michael at a crossroads - Luckily the Coast-to-Coast sign gives an idea of the correct direction.

A scene on the route between Reeth and Richmond.

Our destination for today, Richmond, about 1.5 miles out.

Barry taking a breather with some fellow "Coast-to-Coasters" close to Richmond.

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Day 7:Keld to Reeth, 11 miles (17.5km)

2010-05-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Another cloudless sky and therefore extremely hot morning saw us leave the Keld Lodge hotel at around 8:45AM. (The Keld Lodge is highly recommended, by the way - perhaps a little more expensive than some, but in our opinion very worthwhile).

The route was initially very picturesque, taking the low route from Keld to Reeth alongside the river with quite a bit of shade. Unfortunately, this shade disappeared about half way through, and we had to content with the scorching sun for the remaining five miles or so.

We arrived at our destination in Reeth a little before 3:00PM, very hot, and in severe need of yet another recuperative visit to the local pub.

In the picture above, Michael finds a mode of transport best suited to his driving abilities.

A typical vista on the route from Keld to Reeth.

Barry is relieved that he lost so much weight recently, as all the stiles and gateways around here seem to have been designed for hobbits

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Day 6:Kirkby Stephen to Keld, 13 miles (21km)

2010-05-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Completing today’s walk has meant we are half way through the Coast to Coast, having hiked a total distance of around 95 miles over the past 6 days. Last night we stayed in Kirkby Stephen Youth Hostel, in a converted church, which we can't say we were particularly looking forward to (nothing to do with the church but YHAs can be a bit hit and miss). We were pleasantly surprised to find it to be reasonable and very good value for money.

Before we started today we were a little apprehensive as the route, though not being very long in distance, included the second highest peak on the entire Coast to Coast called Nine Standards Rig (662m). However, after setting off at around 8:45AM, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the ascent was very gradual and didn’t appear to last too long. Just next to the top of the 'hill', were nine slate towers/cairns varying in height between about 8-12 foot (hence the name). We briefly stopped here to make use of the shade they provided and as we did, Jim and James came along (the Kent lads we had previously travelled with). After sharing a few tales from the night before in Kirkby Stephen with them, we moved on from the towers/cairns to begin our descent into Keld, our destination.

We arrived into Keld at around 2:45PM. The weather was very hot with unbroken sunshine which made hiking a lot more strenuous. All in all today’s hike wasn't too much of a challenge compared to other days throughout this week but the increasing fatigue and strain on our feet is beginning to show; both of us now have blisters (Barry's feet could literally be stunt doubles for John Merrick's!).

Luckily tonight’s accommodation is a little more upmarket than all of our previous accommodation which has meant we can relax a little more. Tomorrow’s hike is a short one and fairly flat so fingers crossed it won't take too long.

We would like to invite anyone reading our blog to leave comments at the bottom (words of wisdom, encouragement or abuse are all welcome!...preferably not the later though).

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Day 5:Shap to Kirkby Stephen, 20 miles (32km)

2010-05-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, todays twenty miler showed plenty of promise for being the most exhausting day so far. Certainly it wasn't much easier than yesterdays epic.

We left Shap at around 9:00AM after a very good breakfast. The walk was generally quite flat apart from a couple of hilly bits (conveniently located towards the end of the hike, when we were most tired).

We left the Lake District fairly early in the trek, crossing the beautiful M6 motorway (A major blot on the landscape).

We soon met up with a couple of Coast-to-Coasters from Derby / Leicester. Cathy and Dianna kept us company for the remainder of the days walk, sharing navigation and providing mutual encouragement.

We finally arrived at Kirkby Stephen at around 6:45pm, absolutely shattered!!.
Time for a quick shower and off to the pub to recuperate.

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Day 4:Patterdale to Shap, 16 miles (25.5km)

2010-05-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

After a relatively late leisurely breakfast (8:30am) we embarked on day four of our coast-to-coast trek, anticipating another very hard slog including the highest climb of the entire route (Kidsty Pike at 2560ft). Needless to say, we were not disappointed. The climb to Kidsty Pike wasn't too bad (views were spectacular here), neither was the descent to Haweswater Reservoir (It looked good at first, but after slogging around it for an hour or so, it got a bit boring). However, the walk around the reservoir and the seemingly endless miles along country "paths", was totally exhausting.

We finally arrived at our destination in the small village of Shap (never was the sight of a B&B more welcome), at around 6:15pm, a total of 9 hours 15 minutes walking, with not too many breaks in between.

Tomorrow, we have a TWENTY MILE walk across reasonably flat countryside to look forward to. We also bid farewell to the Lake District. (Beautiful countryside, but walks are very hard work - for "less than super-fit" persons like us).

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Day 3:Rosthwaite to Patterdale, 17.5 miles (28km)

2010-05-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

As we expected today's walk to be quite tough we decided to have an early start at 7:20AM (we must thank Mrs Jackson of Knotts View B&B for accommodating our request for such an early breakfast...if you are ever in the area this is a B&B well worth considering!).

After a steep initial climb we were presented with Lining Crag which required us to use our hands to climb as the footholds were totally unreliable. At the top somebody had left a full bottle of Vodka and an old digital watch - presumably someone trying to make a statement - "It's never a good time to drink a bottle of vodka on a mountain"?

On the top of the mountain there was thick fog; a bit like an 80s disco. Coupled with the fact that there were no obvious paths made navigation very difficult. Thank God for having a GPS app on the iPhone! Along the way we met a couple of Kent lads; Jim and James. Considering the poor conditions we decided to stick together. Also Jim and James had heard of a 'shortcut' which would save us 3 miles (a more than welcome offer!). The shortcut led to a very steep descent which meant we had to 'ass-slide' down the side of the mountain holding onto a fence in to the Grassmere valley. Ascent & Descent one complete. Now we had to do the second one!

The second ascent was much more gentle and a convenient stream was available for us to follow, meaning navigating was much easier. In addition the mist had lifted somewhat on the second mountain and the paths were much more clearly defined which also helped things a little. We arrived at our accomodation, Grinsdale Lodge at around 5:30PM to be welcomed by a very nice couple who took our bags up to our rooms and also offered to put newspaper in our boots to help dry them out...now thats what we call service!

We have gained some confidence in hiking/navigating today and are a bit more upbeat about tomorrow which includes the highest part of the Coast to Coast - Kidsty Pike (739m high).

Happy to find Patterdale has Vodafone 3G reception :)

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Day 2:Ennerdale to Roshthwaite, 14.5 miles (23km)

2010-05-18T08:00:00.000-07:00

After spending a restless night at Low Cock How B&B, and having the obligatory 'full English' for breakfast, we set off at around 8:15AM. Today's walk included our first major ascent (600m+) and coupled with the brilliant weather meant we were treated to some amazing views of the Lake District (not to mention still being able to see the sea, which was a bit disappointing).

We met a number of other Coast to Coasters on the trail today and it was quite interesting hearing other people's experiences.

The walk today was quite tiring. Barry's socks were literally 'bloody' due to blisters and Michael's feet were rubbing a little after the walk. In addition, both of us got sunburnt (beaming sunshine and cooling mountain breezes are a painful combination).

We arrived at our accommodation, a quaint B&B in a 450 year old building at around 4:45PM this afternoon. It is located in the village of Stonethwaite in a narrow valley; alas, there is no 3G or mobile phone reception (this blog is being updated from a chippy up the road in Keswick).

Tomorrow's walk will be tougher with 2 peaks over 600m and a longer distance to cover; we are going to need to dig deep.

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Day 1:St Bees to Ennerdale, 14 miles (22.5km)

2010-05-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

We spent our first night at Stonehouse Farm B&B in St Bees which was really very good; they provided a fairly substantial packed lunch. We departed at around 8.30am this morning following a full English Breakfast and strolled down to St Bees Beach where tradition dictates that one pebble should be collected and deposited at Robin Hood's Bay at the other coast(just to confuse Geologists!).

Michael's iPhone/GPS zoomed out screenshot somewhere between St Bees and Ennerdale

We also dipped our boots in the Irish Sea (so we can truly say we have walked Coast to Coast).

We met a few other Coast to Coasters along the way and there was some really nice scenary (with sunshine all day). Climbing Dent Fell (our first proper climb) was a little tiring (for Michael) and considerably more tiring from Barry. The descent was quite steep and Barry wished he had taken the trouble to buy some ski's to accompany his sticks!

We arrived at Low Cock How Farm (our current nights accomodation) near Ennerdale Bridge where we were surprised once more to discover that we had 3G coverage! (still within the reaches of civilisation!).

No blisters so far and we are looking forward to the entering the main Lake District area tomorrow.

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The Day Before...

2010-05-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

Following a very pleasant journey by car up to The Lake District we've finally arrived at St Bees and got some foods in one of the local pubs, The Queens Head. Our ETB accommodation, Stone House Farm is superb and lives up to all of our expections.

We were most surpised to find that we have 3G coverage from our B&B, albeit very temperamental.

Both of us are really looking forward to starting the walk tomorrow and hope the weather holds up.

"Let them eat cake!" - And they did...

2010-05-07T09:16:00.000-07:00

We held a fundraising Tea Party today in respect of The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation which raised £276.95 in total. It was a really successful afternoon with both of us acting as auctioneers and salesmen for the raffle and lucky dip, although perhaps it's best that neither of us consider giving up the day jobs.

The Roy Castle Lung Foundation arranged for a Lung Cancer Nurse, Lynn Cherett, to attend and give a short presentation on the organisation and their work in the field. This presentation was extremely informative and neither of us were aware of how poorly funded lung cancer care is in this country.

We had a great time and would like to thank everyone that helped with organising, cake making/eating (thanks Mary/Grandma!) and tea making/drinking. It was a real team effort!

Confirmed Accommodation

2010-05-06T12:48:00.000-07:00

As the start date of our walk approaches, we thought we ought to phone around to confirm that all of our accommodation was still available (You never know!). Just a couple of weeks ago, we received a telephone call informing us that the proprietor of one guest house we were due to visit had been taken ill and wouldn't be able to honour our booking. Cue frantic phoning around the area to find alternative lodgings. Fortunately, we found alternative accommodation, but in two different guest houses. I guess this walk is quite popular at this time of year.

Anyway, we've now received confirmation that our accommodation for each night of the walk is still available. (Might still pack the tent - just in case!).

iPhone OS Maps

2010-04-12T05:08:00.000-07:00

We have just created A4 size pages showing OS 1:25,000 maps of the entire route (all using the OS OpenSpace API : http://openspace.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/openspace). One thing which we have been lacking as a backup during our walks is a GPS device which would allow us to 'confirm' where we are in the highly unlikely event that we get lost. As such, being lucky enough to possess an iPhone, we decided to peruse the App Store to see if there were any applications which could be used as a GPS device for the entire C2C.

There are quite a lot of GPS apps for the iPhone which provide varying degrees of functionality and services. However, most do not currently provide maps in enough detail for the entire C2C route unless you are prepared to spend a significant amount of money. After looking at a number of different apps we stumbled upon "Outdoors GB - National Parks" (see here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/outdoors-gb-national-parks/id336150457?mt=8)which provides 1:50K of all national parks in Great Britain e.g. it shows most/all footpaths of all national parks in the Great Britain, in addition to 1:250K of the whole of Great Britain. Luckily almost all of the C2C is in one of three national parks: Lake District,Yorkshire Moors or the Yorkshire Dales, which means this app is ideal for us. The app downloads all map data to the iPhone so that we do not have to worry about loosing phone reception when walking in remote areas and it can be used in conjunction with the iPhone GPS showing us where on the map we are located. On top of this the app currently only costs £14.99 which is an absolutely bargain considering buying the equivalent paper based maps would cost much more. Needless to say we are very happy with the new purchase.

Only 5 weeks to go now...both of us are getting excited!!!

The Land that Mud Forgot (we wish!) - Purbeck Hills, Dorset

2010-02-12T02:19:00.000-08:00

This was probably the hardest practise walk we have done so far (not to mention one of our final ones!). This was not because of the distance but because of the terrain - it was mega muddy....oh yes, mega! On the car journey to Durston Country park in Swanage (our start point) there were heavy winds with hailstones battering the car. We were mentally getting ready for war as we had planned a 18-20 mile coastal hike to Lulworth Cove (ironically going from East to West). However when we arrived at the country park the wind had died down and the hailstones had stopped. We thought, that was lucky.

We set off from the car park with expectations of a moderate hike. After walking about 800 metres we soon realised things weren't going to be as easy as we had anticipated. The hailstones and previous nights rain had caused all the paths (or remnants of them) to turn into deep mud. This, coupled with the local prickly fauna, made things particularly uncomfortable (especially when one happened to land in a bush of it!).

In addition to the mud, we also quickly realised that the maps on which we had planned the route lacking in contour details, which would have given us a clue of the gradients we were likely to encounter on the route. Needless to say there were some very steep hills to navigate which we weren't expecting.

Due to our slow progress and being totally 'caked' in mud, we decided to cut short the walk at Kimmeridge bay (about 12 miles in and about 6 miles from Lulworth Cove). Being a coastal hike there were of course lovely sea views and the scenery was spectacular, if a little 'salty':

This walk was a very good learning experience for us both. Neither of us were expecting such tough terrain and we are seriously thinking about getting some gaiters for the C2C.

We should perhaps also mention that we have done a number of smaller (6-8 mile) walks around various local reservoirs and woodland in the UK. In addition, Barry has also been embarking on a one man crusade to conquer the treadmill and Michael has been doing some runs around Greenwich park/Ash Ranges to help improve fitness. Both of us feel that the real challenge of doing the C2C will be largely mental; having to get up each day with aching feet and having to walk again.

Got the Hoodies & T-shirts printed

2010-01-14T00:38:00.000-08:00

We decided to try a variety of printing suppliers when having the clothing printed to see which one offered the best quality, value for money etc. Barry tried Vistaprint; an online printing supplier (http://www.vistaprint.co.uk), and Michael tried two local suppliers in Greenwich; Arti Promotions (http://www.artipromotions.com/) and ABO Printing & Designs (http://abops.co.uk/). For all suppliers we sent/used a jpg version of our design. Our thoughts on each supplier are as follows:

Vistaprint
These were the cheapest of all the printers however, due to being based in the US probably took the longest to deliver. Their website allows you to design your own t-shirts either using your own images/test or template designs that you already have. They also provide customized printing onto other items e.g. mugs, pens etc which might be of use in the future. The quality of the t-shirts, as expected, is pretty poor (almost being transparent!) however the printing itself wasn't bad, though they still only use transfers.

Arti Promotions
Very professional service. The quality of their clothing was much better than the others and they use screen printing which means that image background can be transparent i.e. it is not just a square transfer ironed on to the clothing. The price was the highest of all suppliers (single t-shirt = £19, hoodie = £25) though it should be kept in mind that these were printed on black clothing (the others were printed on white), in 3 colours and on both sides of the clothing which bumps up the price. We will be using them again (definitely for the hoodies).

ABO Printing & Designs
Not the best! We requested that they print on 1 white and 1 black t-shirt. They just used an A4 transfer and were 3 days late. The black t-shirt design was slightly mangled, looked really bad and I refused to accept it. The white t-shirt front image was off centre and placed at an angle. The shop clerk had the nerve to say "If you wear it then you can't notice it as much". I accepted the white t-shirt (will do as bedtime clothing!) and cancelled the black t-shirt at a cost of £15.

Now we just have to wait to see if any of our very generous, highly fashionable family/friends want to buy one =) ...

Accommodation & T-shirt Design. Check.

2010-01-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

We have finally booked the accommodation! At least now we know we won't be sleeping under the stars. Was a bit more expensive than we had initially anticipated but we are very happy that it is all done now.

Also we have almost finalised the design of what we want printed on the t-shirts/hoodies(see below). We intend to wear these whilst doing the Coast to Coast to help promote awareness of 'the cause'.

Available in all reputable department stores :)

Practice Walk - Kinder Scout

2009-10-01T00:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we did our first practice walk: a 23 mile hike in the Kinder Scout area; the highest point in the Peak District. The day started with an early wake up at 5AM, a 2 hour journey to Hope Valley (the start of our walk), then a start at around 8:30AM. We were not really sure how long it was going to take us travelling in an unfamiliar area so we decided to maximise the amount of daylight we could get on the hike. For those who don't know, Kinder Scout is a very large plateau, where walkers typically climb on top then walk around it (see map below):

The walk up onto the plateau (to Grinsdale Knoll) was a little bit 'knackering' to say the least, however the views once we got to the top were spectacular. We should mention that we were particularly lucky with the weather (the entire day was sunny with a light breeze). Due to most of the route consisting of walking around the edge of the mostly flat but quite rocky/muddy plateau, our orienteering skills were not significantly tested. Due to the fast approaching darkness towards the end of the hike a few detours were required i.e. instead of coming down from the plateau using the same route as for the ascent, we decided to descend using Jacobs ladder in order to ensure that we got off the 'mountain' before it got dark. We managed to do the walk in about 10 hours at a fairly leisurely pace including a number of stops on the way.

Here are some photos of the walk:

The intrepid adventurers begin their journey..

Barry on route (Southern edge)...

Mike on route(Southern edge)...

Barry working on his tan...

For Rob..

2009-09-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

We thought it only fitting to have the first post of the blog explaining a little more about why we are doing the Coast to Coast walk. Early this year Rob Disspain (Barry's brother in-law and Michael's uncle) succumbed to Lung Cancer, leaving a wife and two young children, a loss made all the more tragic by the fact that Rob was a fitness fanatic, a medical doctor and a non-smoker for many years who always ate healthily and was incredibly active.

We are aiming to raise money for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation in the hope that we can in some way contribute towards research into the prevention and cure of this illness. You can make a donation here:

http://www.justgiving.com/BarryAndMike-CoastToCoast/

This is Rob...

An Overview of the Coast to Coast route can be seen here:

A More details description of the route can be viewed here:
http://cms-stu-iis.gre.ac.uk/km44/map/