I woke up one morning and decided I needed a new challenge in my life. It had to be something that didn't include heights or that would risk life and limb, plus my wife was quite insistent that it should not be anything that involved wearing Lycra!. There will be no jumping out of aeroplanes with or without a parachute and certainly no base jumping ....... although I did once do the longest zip wire in Europe, but my legs still wobble even now at the thought of it! So I've decided to keep my feet firmly on the ground and walk the Macmillan Way, a 290 mile path, that runs coast to coast, from Boston in Lincolnshire to Abbotsbury in Dorset.
That's utter madness I can hear you say, why don't you just drive there or let the train take the strain?
Well, where's the challenge in that ......... apart from navigating the M25 or trying to work out how to get the cheapest train tickets, come to think of it, I think I'll stick to walking!
I also have a walking buddy. I did ask my wife and daughters if they wanted to come with me and share this life experience. They quickly all politely declined, I'd like to think the reason for this was their worries about the constant, day long pounding of the footpath, blisters, aches and pain, toilet breaks and the weather...... hmmm hang on, I think i'm having second thoughts! But I suspect it was more to do with not wanting to listen my moans and groans and my threat to send anybody and everybody an email at the slightest inconvenience!
Oscar on the other hand didn't have any choice. Oscar joined our family just over a year ago, he is a 4 year old Springer Spaniel who came from HYPS rescue centre, or death row as Meg (my youngest daughter) called it, just to pile some psychological pressure on us after her year long campaign to get a dog. He is a lovely dog, it is really difficult to understand why anybody would put him in rescue centre. Anyway when I'm out with Oscar, it's not that my curmudgeonly attitude changes, it's just that when i speak he looks at me quizzically with a tilt of his head, wags his tail and just gets on with it. The perfect walking companion!
In fact it's Oscar I have to thank for the idea of walking the Macmillan Way. Part of the path passes to the north of the village where I live, and we have spent many long weekend hours walking along the 'local' stretches, so I thought why not do the full walk and raise some money for charity at the same time.
My plan is to walk the path in sections to coincide with my long weekends, which happen every three weeks. I suspect that this will get logistically challenging as I get further south as Oscar is not a great traveller. So there is no plan other than to start and finish the walk, with hopefully a few nice real ales along the way! I will keep my blog updated as I go, so either subscribe to my blog and follow by email, or just keep checking in and see whats new. I am raising money for Macmillan Cancer Care as I walk, so if you can sponsor me, please click the Just Giving button at the top right of my blog.
That's utter madness I can hear you say, why don't you just drive there or let the train take the strain?
Well, where's the challenge in that ......... apart from navigating the M25 or trying to work out how to get the cheapest train tickets, come to think of it, I think I'll stick to walking!
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| Oscar ready & waiting |
Oscar on the other hand didn't have any choice. Oscar joined our family just over a year ago, he is a 4 year old Springer Spaniel who came from HYPS rescue centre, or death row as Meg (my youngest daughter) called it, just to pile some psychological pressure on us after her year long campaign to get a dog. He is a lovely dog, it is really difficult to understand why anybody would put him in rescue centre. Anyway when I'm out with Oscar, it's not that my curmudgeonly attitude changes, it's just that when i speak he looks at me quizzically with a tilt of his head, wags his tail and just gets on with it. The perfect walking companion!
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| The Macmillan Way - Baston |
My plan is to walk the path in sections to coincide with my long weekends, which happen every three weeks. I suspect that this will get logistically challenging as I get further south as Oscar is not a great traveller. So there is no plan other than to start and finish the walk, with hopefully a few nice real ales along the way! I will keep my blog updated as I go, so either subscribe to my blog and follow by email, or just keep checking in and see whats new. I am raising money for Macmillan Cancer Care as I walk, so if you can sponsor me, please click the Just Giving button at the top right of my blog.
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