Thought it may be interesting to put together some of the statistics of the adventure....
DISTANCES
- Total mileage : 900.5
(Think path mileage is nearer 890 than 870. Our personal mileage accounts for getting lost and finding way to the car etc.)
- Total days walked : 75
(In 14 months. We had 3 months with no walking between May '13 and September '14)
- Average miles per day : 12
(don't envy the non-stoppers doing up to and over 20 miles a day - they must miss a lot! Our longest day was into Port Talbot at 17 miles - phew!)
- Average miles per hour: 2!!
- Total ascent : 95,781 feet
(with the maximum single height at 1,155 feet - Yr Eifl I think!)
- Estimated 170 miles on roadsides
(sometimes NOT very coastal)
- 16 out of 22 Counties walked through
WEATHER
- Days we got wet (but never a whole day) : 4
- Days with a shower (other than those 4) : 5
- Misty days : 5
- Days when a planned walk was cancelled by bad weather (storms etc!) : 5
PERSONAL TRAUMA
- Chris wore out 1 pair of trousers
- Chris had 1 pair of boots the whole distance apart from the first 2 days, which in the end were held together with Gorilla Glue!
- Chris had foot problems, achilles and instep, a podiatrist may be needed
- I wore out 2 pairs of boots
- 2 rucksacks were worn out - broken zips
- 2 walking stick rubber tips were worn out (or lost). Carried for anti cow and dog protection - and sometimes they were really helpful downhill!
SOME TIPS
- Carry a stick!
- We used Allport Pro GPS which was useful
- I also used OS Getamap, printing out the relevant pages for each walk
- Don't go without a map, sometimes the signs are not reliable - or visible!
- Tidetimes.org was very useful to assess beach walks - and stepping stones availability!
SOME HIGHLIGHTS
(Don't know why I've said that, there are far too many!)
- The storm erosion and damage, boulders strewn everywhere - and plastic bottles (where did they all come from??)
- The ancient forests revealed by the storms
- The hillforts and other prehistoric sites, so many and so many more we missed. Wish I'd counted them!
- The lime kilns - so much lime was produced!
- And of course most importantly, so many absolutely amazing beaches and coves. We have so many of these as our favourite places. So many, some hidden, so remarkable - sands, stones, dunes, shingle banks. (Maybe a new blog of beaches will have to be written....)
- Clockwise is better!!!
Looking back on the walk is kind of like looking back on life - the friends you've met along the way, the places you wanted to stay longer in - and those you wanted to leave as soon as you could (especially those with bulls in for instance!) Most of all the joy of the whole experience - each day with new thngs to see and discover!
Hope you'll be inspired to go and see some of it - if not all.
Go on, you know you want to!!
Go on, you know you want to!!
pamelamallpress@btinternet.com
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