Training Walk

Well, we’ve made a decent start on the training now but it has demonstrated how far we have to go. My aching legs and sore feet attest to that! We had a lovely weekend though.



Friday evening we looked at a house to rent (and had a couple of glasses of red wine in the local). It’s pretty good but probably not the one we’d prefer given a free choice. We might have to go for it though as we’re running out of time for the luxury of choices! It’s a spacious 3 bed house which was refurbished to a high standard by the owner….some time ago. So, although it was all very nice a few years ago, the upstairs is definitely rather tired now. All 3 bedrooms would need painting and probably new carpets as well in order to be a pleasant place to be. Having said that, the downstairs is great, lovely big kitchen, wooden floors in living room (great for dogs) and nice conservatory and there’s a heated swimming pool in the back garden which I would like a lot this summer!! I think it’d be interesting to see how many of our friends with children would find reasons to visit en famille once the nice weather comes…



We still have a couple of other irons in the fire but I’m going to have to push the landlords to make a decision on these soon or we risk not having anywhere to live come the end of March!!



Saturday was chores and another house viewing. This place was really nice but probably out of our budget unless the landlord is willing to drop the rent…which they might do, you never know.



An afternoon trip to a Model Railway exhibition (?!). (Rich revealed an interest, which he had hitherto kept very quiet, in model railways! Said it was something he’d always wanted to set up when he has sufficient time and space….hmm….might have to ensure that he doesn’t find sufficient time and space for a while yet!! Let’s just say that the model railway brigade were a tad on the nerdy side and leave it at that…)



Then Tom, the friend who roped us into the Three Peaks Challenge, arrived and we set off into Sheffield by train for a big night out. Not something we do that often but it was really good to be out and about on a Saturday night. Dressed up and drinking, going from pub to pub and ending up in a cheesy nightclub having a dance (not that sort of dancing before you ask – cheesy bopping would be a more accurate description). So a shameful kebab and cab home followed by a spell of racing around the Valley successfully retrieving Tom’s mobile phone which he’d left in the taxi and eventually to bed at 4am!



Possibly not the optimum preparation for a training hike??



We’d decided to up the level of our usual weekend walk from one big hill to 2 so we trekked from Bradwell to Hope and first tackled the steep climb up Win Hill. The weather was extremely changeable and we experienced cold, slicing wind, mist, drizzle, rain, grey skies and sunshine, several times each in rotation. Straight down Win Hill and straight back up Lose Hill. The 2 hills face each other over the valley leading from Hope to Edale and local legend has it that they are named for the winning and losing sides of an ancient Pictish battle.



Lose Hill was hard – just as the ascent was steepest, a driving wind hit us head-on and the terrain was very wet and slippery underfoot so your feet couldn’t get a decent purchase. Still, all good practise. We eventually made it to the top and were rewarded with some lovely sunshine and a stunning rainbow.



Then we slipped and slid our way down the hill into Hope to a pub for a “Sunday Roast”. Tom had been getting excited about his “Sunday Roast” all weekend but I was just fretting about finding a pub which was still serving and would allow us in with the dogs. So, I was very pleased to find that The Old Hall in Hope was accommodating. I was covered in mud from a slip coming down the hill and the others were not much cleaner. The dogs were just balls of mud, excited and desperate to get onto the banquette seating in the pub, and chow down on the roast pork…bit of a nightmare. Eventually we all settled down and could enjoy a roast dinner not cooked by me. I’m not being big-headed when I say that my roast dinner is better but this had the advantage in that it arrived in about 5 minutes flat, I had not had to cook it and someone else would be doing the washing up – bliss!!



I love that feeling once you’ve finished a big walk in rainy weather – all tired and full of fresh air. When a hot shower is the greatest thing in the world. I managed to prise myself from the sofa and go to the pub quiz match in the evening though despite briefly toying with backing out. We had a handy win and I had a nice chat with a friend I haven’t seen for a while who has just had baby. So, all in all, a busy, varied and fun weekend.



As an aside on the baby – she is a week old today but still no name. Is this a record?! A name was announced on Friday (Sissy Florence - eeek) but when I somewhat insincerely congratulated Sammy on this name yesterday he said that both names had been retracted, as has Amber. So she’s currently known as Baby Number 2. (“I am not a Numbeeer!!!”)