So when are we gonna go? With the seeds there it only seemed right to make plans to do the West Highland Way (WHW) and at Christmas we decided to do the walk during August when I traditionally make my summer trip north to Scotland to stay with my sister. This gave us a good 6 months to prepare.
We decided that walking 100 miles was hard enough without camping and carrying baggage so planned to book in at B & B's en route and consider using a luggage transfer service - at 40 something (!) with a back that has been put through the mill with careers in catering and healthcare I didn't want to risk it giving up on me halfway through.
Practical preparations have included buying my first pair of walking boots (Lomer - solid leather construction, traditional style) and trying to walk in them as much as possible. A weekend in the Peak District (combined with visiting my son in Sheffield) so that I could get some hill walking practice and more recently my first 20+ mile walk, which gave us an idea of what to expect (and how our bodies would feel the next day). We survived, all be it with aching calves the next day, so this gave us some confidence that we would be alright. the only slight concern being that the original planned 17 mile walk ended up being 21 miles! My sister informs me that the WHW is well marked and impossible to get lost on (hmmmm! lets hope so)
No comments:
Post a Comment