I have just completed walking the length of the Ridgeway which totaled some 100 miles in all - that was 86 miles along the Ridgeway footpath plus 14 miles getting to and from accommodation/camp sites. This was the first long distance walk I have undertaken and has been a bit of an eye opener.
A group of four of us set off on the 14th June from Ivinghoe Beacon, each of us carrying a bag of what we considered to be essentials for such a hike, including tent spare clothes, first aid kit, water, gas burner and kettle - this all came to something like 25-30lb on our backs. We all had done very little training for this exercise and none of us had attempted any walking with a fully laden ruck sack. By midday of the first day I can honestly say we were all knackered - taking the ruck sacks off our back at a pub in Wendover seemed to make our legs float!
That night, we were due to stay over at a pub in Great Kimball, but the maps we had did not point out exactly where the pub was located and we had to walk extra miles in order to find it - this additional strain on feet legs and hips after having walked 15 miles somewhat deflated our enthusiasm for walking. The flagging spirits could well be responsible for a couple of the lads doubting whether we could complete this feat - they retired to bed early - shattered. I was OK myself at this stage, just sore legs and feet, so stayed up talking with the locals in the bar about the pub ghost and the day when John Major and Boris Yeltsin came to town - apparently they went to the pub up the road and on seeing it closed had one of their security personnel bang on the door. The landlord then shouted "We're closed" to which the security man replied "Its John Major and Boris Yeltsin". The landlord retorted "sure - and I'm the pope". How true that story is, I don't know, but I was shown the pictures of Major and Yeltsin with their wives standing outside the pub.
The second day we headed for Aston Moant. The weather didn't hold out for us and we had to test our waterproofs which seemed pretty effective. A useful point to note here was that Yew trees seem to provide excellent cover for showers whereas the Beech trees soon let the wet drip through. Once again we were not sure of where our accommodation was located and ended up getting very agitated because we walked unneeded extra miles diverting ourselves into the village when the pub was located on the main road.
Third day took us down to Wallingford Camp Site. Some good sights en route including the 10th century church at Swinford. One point to note is the lack of sufficient signposting across the golf course at Nuffield - luckily a local pointed us in the right direction. A couple of passing showers nearly wet us - the first we were caught out in a cattle field - the cows did look menacing but that was more because they had calves with them - but we were more wary of the solitary bull in the field and hastened our step to the exit style - luckily our hastened steps saved us from the rain as we took shelter under the tree lined lane. The next wetting came as we crossed crop fields, the rain came down heavy but once again we sheltered in trees that bordered the two fields we were crossing, a nice little sanctuary where we could unload our bags and watch the rain teem down across the fields. The final miles of the days walk followed Grims Ditch down to the main road into Wallingford and once again we got lost in finding the camp site. At this stage the feet, legs and hips were all very sore and the last thing we needed was adding milage to our walk looking for a camp site.
It was a typical Saturday night in Wallingford with all the pubs bursting with drunken customers and none offering food. We ended up at a Pizza house.
The fourth day was a pleasant walk alongside the Thames down to Streetly. One of our number attempted to adjust their rucksack in a cattle field and was left behind. He soon was surrounded by inquisitive cows and couldnt move on. Thought he was going to have to swim for it! You are supposed to not act frightened and just push through but when faced with a few tons of moving meat in front of you it is easier said than done.
Stocked up with pasties and mars bars at the village shop ready for the hike over the downs. Nice little pub in Streetly that bore a plaque in the garden noting that this was the resting place of a rather naughty nun and monk. A pint does help revive tired legs - it eases the aches and puts a spring back into the step. I tried telling the lads this but they stuck to shandy! We passed by a Ridgeway signpost that was the nearest thing to a half way marker. It is good to know that you have completed half the journey - from here you could say it was the homeward journey. We headed up onto the downs on a long slow incline that lasted for miles. As we walked numerous runners passed by us - some organised cross country run. One curious oddity was all the runners were heading up the long hill towards Ilsley apart from one who ran back down the hill against the grain. At first we thought it must have been a circular route but further on we found a dropped copy of the route. It was not a circular route - we could only conclude he was either a bad map reader or was lost!
Ended the days walk at East Illsley - the map indicated it was about a mile off the route and straight into the town - it seemed a lot further, but for once we asked a local who directed us straight to the pub we were due to stay at. A nice pint of timothy Taylor landlord soothed the aches.
Dau five: This is where I hit the dreaded "Wall" as we headed out to a camp site near Uffington my spirits were getting jaded and my mind was thinking "why are we doing this" and "dont think we can make it". Strange because we was well past the half way mark and this was really the easier section of the walk. The cause certainly wasnt the rain which persistently came down throughout the morning giving all of us soaked feet - it wasnt the weight on my back - I dont know what it really was. They say everyone has to go through the "Wall" - sure enough I did. Maybe it was the change in topology - the first sections of the Ridgeway have steep inclines which I found with a bit effort I could get to the top easily then rest - they were like a little challenge which you went at with as much gusto as you could possibly spare - however the downs have long slow inclines - my eyes could see the summit but despite putting in extra effort I never seemed to get there. It needed a different attitude to these inclines, it needed a steady slow pace which I want use to. I can only put my thoughts down to that.
Sixth Day took us from Uffington to Osbourne St George and the final day was an easy stroll down to Overton albeit against a very stiff breeze.
We have learnt a few things from this walk:
1 - we covered 15-20 miles each day - that was really pushing it - it would have been better to take a little more time and only do 10-15 miles. Virtually every day the last hour of walking, usually trying to locate the place we were due to stay, was a very weary drudge that saw tempers flare and a general air of knarkedness (if thats a word).
2 - If we undertake another walk I think we should ascertain exactly the location of any camp site or accommodation - knowing that you have an extra mile is a lot better than getting to where you think is the end of the days walk only to realise you have more miles to do.
3 - socks - we seemed to take a variety of spare clothing and intended to reuse most of it through the trip. One thing we need to do if ever we take another long trek is have plenty of pairs of socks - more than the number of days traveling - socks get wet and that makes sore feet. Better to have loads of socks and just a few t-shirts and recycle the t-shirts.
4 - We met two chaps called Richard and Dave en route - they were camping as and where they could find a suitable spot on the Ridgeway. They had previously discreetly hidden food and beer at each position they were due to stop. So that made a cheap and easy way of completing the walk. Good planning! But they were seasoned hikers.
Having said all this I think the achievement of completing the walk has set us with the goal of trying another long distance footpath and on reflection all the memories of the aches and pains have been overtaken by the good times and the sights we encountered.
A few things stick out as good memories from the walk:
1 - the owner of the campsite near Uffington, I think her name was Marcelle, a truly wonderful old lady, who rang around local pubs looking for a place for us to eat and when they didnt answer, drove around each pub in turn. She even gave us a lift 3 miles up the road to the only pub that was serving that night. She also gave us milk for cups of tea. A real legend of a lady.
2 - Didcot Power Station - its view was there practically for all of the walk - being from a distant object on the horizon to seeing it clearly from the hillsides.
3. Getting a soaking on the downs - we were prepared and had all the waterproofs so the only thing that leaked was our boots.
4 - Getting a drenching without waterproofs just a couple of hundred yards from the Red Lion at Avebury - our final destination.
5 - The strange cider-swilling hippies at summer solstice - more on this on the next blog
pictures of the walk can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/griff.chamberlain/RidgewayWalk14th21stJune2007
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