I’ve been tinkering away on the blog this week and have added indexes to both my LEJOG and Thames Path walks. Finding a particular blog entry has always been time consuming but that’s no longer the case with these handy indexes. The LEJOG index also includes actual mileage, walking times and route summaries as opposed to the estimated figures that appear on my Route page (which was posted before my walk).

I’m following several walking blogs at the moment and earlier this week I learned of another LEJOG attempt starting in July. This one’s not on foot but instead is using local buses to make the journey. Alex Johnson is a student and bus enthusiast who is raising money for the British Heart Foundation. He’ll cover nearly 1000 miles in six days using 41 different buses! You can follow his journey on his LEJOG Bus 2013 blog and on twitter (@lejogbus).

I thought I’d also mention a free app that walkers might find interesting. SkyMotion is available for a variety of mobile devices and on the web using a browser. It provides forecasts for destinations around the world but of course there are hundreds of apps that do that. What’s special about SkyMotion is that it provides a “Nowcast“, a 2-hour minute by minute forecast for your current location (up to 1 sq. km). As of today Nowcast’s are only available in North America (the technology was developed in Canada) but they will be adding other countries soon and since this app is of particular interest to walkers and cyclists I would imagine Britain must be near the top of their to-do list. I’ve been using it for several months and it is pretty darn accurate. While I agree that in most cases if it starts to rain you just have to put your head down and plod along it may be worth knowing that the downpour will arrive in 25 minutes, especially if the next pub is 35 minutes away. Better still, why rush your pint when you know the skies will clear in a quarter of an hour!

Walking conditions were perfect for the first few hours as there was a gentle breeze that kept the temperature in check. Not surprisingly it seemed like most of Victoria was on the Lochside Trail although most were on bikes rather than on foot. I took my first break at the 4-mile mark where I joined the trail after my walk through the city. I took the opportunity to fill up my water bottle at the fountain that was installed over the winter. It’s a clever bit of kit with three water fountains (one for adults, children and pets) and a separate tap designed specifically for water bottles.

From there I continued over Blenkinsop Lake (lovely as always) and then along the old rail bed where I crossed Royal Oak Drive and into Broadmead. Another quick break was followed by a 45-minute walk to Mattick’s Farm where ice-cream sales were booming. I munched on strawberries and a granola bar before setting off on my favourite stretch of the whole walk which took me through the heart of farming country. When I took my last break at Mitchell’s Farm the breeze had subsided and the temperatures soared.

Despite this I set off with the intention of extending my normal 14-mile walk by an additional 3 miles. The prospect of some excellent vistas and a pint at the Prairie Inn kept me going. I wasn’t disappointed either. The skies were unusually clear and I was able to clearly see three distinct snow-topped mountain ranges. To the east was Mt. Baker in northern Washington State, to the northeast were the Coast Mountains near Vancouver and to the south were the Olympics, on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. I staggered into the pub to celebrate my first 17-mile day in more than a year and after a quick bite caught the bus home.

A new LEJOG blog to follow: I encourage you to check out Grant’s End to End Challenge. Grant Paterson began his LEJOG on April 1 and should now be somewhere on or nearing the Pennine Way. Grant’s raising money for three charities and donations can be made online through his Just Giving page.

Stunning scenery is the highlight of many a good ramble and so I’m looking forward to featuring many of these wonderful vistas on my blog. For the time being I’ll highlight some of the images from my previous posts.

If you like the new look let me know!

One of my objectives is to retrace as few steps as possible and another is to leave myself more flexibility then I had on my LEJOG. I don’t plan on creating a day by day itinerary like I did in 2010 but I will have a good idea of which footpaths I’d like to follow. Last time around I enjoyed modifying my route on the fly and so I’m looking forward to more spontaneity.

The Wales Coast Path (870 miles) will be the centrepiece of my walk and I plan to do it in a clockwise direction. I’d like to start with a walk in southern England and at this point the South Downs Way (100 miles) is at the top of my list. From Winchester I would piece together a route to Chepstow (~125 miles). I might head north towards Lechlade so that I can complete the Thames Path, or I may choose to head in a more westerly direction so that I can include a visit to Wells.

Once in Chester I will take a short break so that I can put in place the final piece of the puzzle surrounding my great-grandfather Herbert. I found out after my visit in 2012 that he died in Neston in 1960 but I have yet to locate his final resting place.

At this point I’m looking to end my walk in Edinburgh and I would like to approach it from the coast. I’m thinking of getting myself to the Reiver’s Way and then cobbling together a coastal walk that would pass through Berwick-upon-Tweed, another town I’ve always wanted to visit. The most difficult section to figure out is the one between Chester and the Reiver’s Way. I’ve come up with at least six variations over the past few months however the latest version is easily my favourite. Tell me what you think.

From Chester I would head to Birkenhead, possibly via the Wirral Way and then take the ferry ‘cross the Mersey. I would follow the Sefton Coastal Footpath and cut over to pick up the Ribble Way. I’d branch off at Gisburn and make for Ilkley where I would pick up the Ebor Way which would include a visit to York, my favourite city in England. The Cleveland Way would get me to Roseberry Topping at which point I’d head north to pick up the Teesdale Way and follow it west to Middleton-in-Teesdale. My way-hopping would continue along the Weardale Way and up to Allendale where I would finally link up with the Reiver’s Way.

Cheap and Cheesy

I decided it was time to rename my blog and so I dug deep into the archives and chose Ramble On. Back in the late 90′s I ran a short-lived walking tour company called “Mind the Gap Tours” and I published a walking newsletter called Ramble On. I enjoyed the experience but it was a hell of a lot of work and quite frankly I made more money selling mindthegap.com to a London Advertising agency than I did running tours!

I hope to post once or twice a month and will update other pages over the summer. My Links page needed immediate attention and it now includes all the 2013 long walks I’m currently aware of, including a 7000-mile coastline walk that is now underway.

It’s been one of those weeks

It’s been three years, almost to the day, that I set off on my End to End walk. I can honestly say I never felt healthier, both in body and mind, than I did in April through June of 2010. I missed my nomadic lifestyle almost immediately and by late July I was back in Canada and back on the treadmill, paying down the mortgage and piling on the stress.

My plan, as recently as several days ago, was to keep my nose to the grindstone until 2015 and then take a 6-month leave of absence. But I had one of those weeks … I’m sure you’ve had them too … where something had to give. It’s at times like these that one is forced to make decisions and I’ve decided that my health and well-being outweighs everything else. Assuming my leave is approved I will, about a year from now, be making my final preparations for another very long walk in Britain. It will be about the best 50th birthday present I could give myself.

In the meantime I will enjoy the planning, training and anticipation of another adventure. I’m also looking forward to following the blogs of those setting off in 2013 and will be updating my links page within the next couple of days.

Happy Days!

It’s nearing the end of March and so my thoughts naturally turn to very long walks. Unfortunately there are none on the horizon for me this year although I am looking forward to some short rambles when I visit Ireland this autumn. By this time next year I hope to be well stuck into my plans for a long walk in 2015 … and planning a walk is almost as much fun as the walk itself (and infinitely easier on the feet).

In the meantime I’d love to hear from anyone who is planning a LEJOG or JOGLE this year. If you are blogging please let me know as I would love to follow your exploits online, and of course I will add a link too.

Good luck and happy walking!

Although the weather and the footpath conditions were often grim I’ve tried my best not to let that colour my opinion of the walk itself. Overall I’m very glad I did it and given the time I had the Thames Path fit perfectly into my schedule. The walk can be comfortably completed in two weeks and without the need for any 20+ mile days. If you prefer flat terrain to fells then the Thames Path is an excellent choice as, with the exception of a few minor diversions, there are no climbs at all. Arranging accommodation and public transportation is relatively easy due to its close proximity to many major centres in the Thames valley. I was able to base myself in five locations (London, Windsor, Henley, Abingdon and Cricklade) and use buses or trains to commute to and from the path. In retrospect the only modification I would make is to stay one night each in Lechlade and Cricklade, although this was a moot point for me as I had no need to walk to the headwaters (they came to me).

What the Thames Path lacks is the variety of terrain and vistas that I prefer. As I mentioned in my previous post I really enjoyed the circular walk around Ross-on-Wye for that very reason. If I were to do it again I would take more time and spice it up by deviating from the river and connecting with other footpaths when possible. Having said that I can’t see myself doing the Thames Path again as there are just too many other great places to walk in Britain … although that’s not to say I wouldn’t start my next walk in Lechlade and make my way to the source before moving on.

If you are planning a Thames Path walk I would strongly recommend going in late summer or early fall when the danger of flooding is lower. I was happy with my decision to walk upstream from London and into progressively more tranquil surroundings, although I know that walking towards London seems to be more popular.

Last but not least, before returning to London I spent several days in Chester and it was here that I solved the mystery surrounding my great-grandfather Herbert Clifford! It took nearly 15 years to crack but I got there in the end. My only regret is that I ran out of time and could not determine exactly where on the Wirral peninsula he is buried. I will return there on my next trip and I might even incorporate that location into my next long walk. I will post my findings on my family history blog and will post a link to it from here as soon as I do.

I stayed four nights in Cheltenham although two days were spent in the Gloucestershire Records Office in nearby Gloucester. On both days I was glued to microfiche readers and researching dusty old tomes requested from the archive’s vaults. It was a worthwhile exercise and the staff were very friendly and helpful. In the end I made a discovery that removed dozens of relatives from my tree, thereby eliminating the need to visit streets and churchyards in Cheltenham and Stow-on-the-Wold. Prior to my visit I had mistakenly linked my 4xgreat-grandfather, William Clifford, to parents whom I now believe to be incorrect. This is why it’s always risky using information gleaned from other peoples trees on Ancestry.com. It pays to do the research yourself.

During my stay in Cheltenham I also had the opportunity to meet up with Bill whom I met in Gloucester during my LEJOG in 2010. He and his wife Jennie very kindly invited me to dinner and I had a very enjoyable evening. A big Thank You to you both for being such wonderful hosts!

The weather had been very unsettled throughout my stay in Cheltenham and at times the rain was torrential. It didn’t last as long but if you were caught in one of the downpours you got drenched. Fortunately the weather forecast for Friday and the weekend was good and so I decided to make a detour to Minchinhampton on my way to Ross-on-Wye.

Minchinhampton is a beautiful village set atop of a very unusual plateau, a handful of miles southeast of Stroud. I think this village is one of the best kept secrets in the Cotswolds. It was also the birthplace of my 4xgreat-grandfather William and his siblings, and the final resting place of two of them, as well as his parents James and Mary Clifford.

I visited Holy Trinity, the Anglican church, where William and his siblings were baptized and at least four Clifford’s are buried. Unfortunately there are no headstones, or record of where they are buried, but I know they are buried there somewhere. One of the church wardens saw me looking through the churchyard and offered to look up the names in their registers. Unfortunately they only go back to the late 19th century and my ancestors were buried in the early to mid-1800′s. At least they had a visit from another Clifford, even if it was over 150 years after the fact.

I walked to the outskirts of the village to a collection of buildings known as Forwood. The Clifford family worked on this estate in the 1830′s, when William’s father James was employed as a groom and a gardener. The buildings are now private homes but they still they bear their old names, such as ‘The Coach House’. The surrounding countryside was very beautiful and extremely hilly. If James wanted a pint in the Crown Inn he had a steep climb from Forwood to the Market Square (I both walked in his footsteps and sampled the ale from his local).

Unfortunately I only had a few hours to spend in Minchinhampton and so a return visit is definitely in the cards. I made my way to Gloucester by bus and train where I met up again with Bill. He offered to drive me to Ross-on-Wye, by way of the Forest of Dean. William Clifford’s wife Emily and all of his children were born in several villages in the Forest and we drove through a couple on our way. The highlight though was the visit to Symonds Yat. This famous view from here of the Wye Valley is even more stunning then the photos I had seen online, helped in no small part by the excellent weather! Thanks again to Bill for being such a super host. He and Jennie will have to visit Victoria so that I can show them around.

I spent the weekend in Ross-on-Wye, a beautiful Herefordshire market town. The excellent weather continued and I really enjoyed my visit. On Saturday I roamed around the town and enjoyed the town’s May Fayre celebrations. The streets were chock-a-block with residents enjoying food, music and shopping. I enjoyed poking around various book and antique shops and also took a short stroll over the bridge to the village of Wilton where I enjoyed a pint in a beer garden next to the river.

Today I set out on what ended up being an 18-20 mile walk around the Herefordshire countryside. I can say without doubt that this was the best walk of my trip, and it would remain so even if the weather and footpath conditions on the Thames Path had been better. I followed the Wye Valley Way up river from Ross to How Caple and then over quiet country lanes to the village of Hoarwithy where I enjoyed a pint at the New Harp Inn. I then followed the Herefordshire Trail back to Ross by way of King’s Caple. The variety of terrain and the wonderful views were top notch. This walk had it all: riverside meadows, forests of Bluebells, quiet country lanes, medieval churches, laid-back villages and pastures full of sheep and cattle. One of the nicest rambles I’ve ever done!

The photos I’ve included below are from today’s walk. I’ll post photos of Michinhampton later this week.