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.
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.
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