Category Archives: walking

Walking in Tenerife (part one)

Our first week in Tenerife was spent on the Island La Gomera.

We based ourselves in San Sebastian, a quiet non touristy town but perfect for the day walking we wanted to do and meant we could do a section of the GR132 and the GR131

IMG_1866

The walking trails were very wild barren and peaceful with the most amazing views and huge Cacti growing along the paths,every now and again we would get a tantalising peek of Mount Teide in the distance, the weather was hot sunny and wonderful making it perfect !!

IMG_1848

One day we did catch the bus over to the very touristy Valley Gran Rey where we enjoyed a great walk but was more than happy to be going back to San sebastian.

We found a great restaurant that served good food and the most amazing locally grown avocado’s , interestingly the guy that served us, Cristofer Clemente was a trail runner who had won many marathons including the 2014 Scafell Pike Trail Marathon.

IMG_1898

Before we left I had to have a run along the sea front but after a mile my achilles started to complain 🙁 so more rest was needed.

We left la Gomera on the early ferry feeling excited about part two of our holiday not quite realising the best was yet to come and how amazing it would be !!!

Soller to Cuber

The temptation today was to go and conquer yesterday’s walk but due to torrential rain and thunderstorms during the night we had a change of plan.

Instead we caught the tram to Soller and decided to walk the GR221 up the Pilgrim Steps to Cúber

It was a 3275 feet climb,up a stone staircase, I was in heaven as I love walking up mountains especially on tracks that are signposted 🙂

 Luckily the weather improved too and the sun came out making it another perfect walk through rugged mountain terrain.

It would have been a 3 hour wait for a bus back to Port de Soller but just as we arrived someone was being dropped off by a taxi so we hopped in and 30 mins later we were  back in Port de Soller enjoying our Sangria.

Geoff’s pictures are here
Tomorrow we move on to the Sanctuary at Lluc, most people would get the bus there but we shall get the bus back to Cuber then walk to Lluc 🙂

Staying at the monastery for 3 nights will be quite an experience I
Just hope they don’t expect me to take a vow of silence !!

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Paseo Es Travès Marina,Sóller,Spain

Walking in Mallorca

We arrived late in Palma on Sunday night so after a good nights sleep and a hearty breakfast we headed off to Port de Soller, but not before the mobile phone shops opened so Geoff could get his obligatory SIM card and Internet.

He offered to buy me one too but as I have always managed with free wifi I declined the offer not knowing how I would come to regret this 🙁

We caught the lovely wooden train that runs between Palma and Soller , it was a very scenic journey and the lemon and orange orchards were amazing.

Once in Soller you could catch the tram to Port de Soller, we decided to walk but not before we tried the Sangria which I can see will become a favourite on this holiday.

Once booked into our hotel “Eden North ” we went for a stroll round.Enjoyed a lovely dinner then watched the sunset over the bay and planned our first walk.

BayToday we decided to walk along the GR 221 to Deya a beautiful walk and very well signposted, as usual we thought it was too early to stop walking when we reached Deya so after a light lunch and finally finding some free wifi we decided to carry on to Valldemossa

It started with a tough climb and was totally un signposted which made finding the way hard at times and we did lose the GR221 but it was an awesome walk,one that reminded me just how much I love walking 🙂

We arrived in Valldemossa around 17.30 to discover no buses ran back to Port de Soller but luckily we found a taxi and a couple to share it with too 🙂

So we arrived back in time to have our Sangria before dinner, a perfect end to a perfect walk 🙂

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

LDWA Daffodil Dawdle Challenge Walk

For the second year running I had arranged to do The Daffodil Dawdle 26.5 mile walk with my friend Gina.

DSCF8064-001The route may have been the same as last year but that was the only comparison that could be made, last year we walked in snow and blizzards this year it was sun and t-shirts 🙂

Its called a challenge walk as the route is not marked, your given 4 pages of route instructions and off you go…. last year there were so few walkers that we had to follow the instructions word by word.

This year how ever there were many more walkers and with out realising it we just followed the walkers in front, which is not really a good idea because I never really knew where we were up to in the instructions.

Over the 26.5 miles we had 3 check points where great food and drink was supplied at no extra DSCF8065-001cost, it was amazing to see the 100 or so people of all ages and sizes running the route and lovely to bump into other walkers I now know and have a chat on the way.

After 8 hr and 20 mins (20 mins quicker than last year) we arrived back in Kirtling to be greeted by my friend Jayne who had been busy cooking the finishers food, delicious soup and crusty bread followed by crumble and custard…  all this for the £8 entry fee 🙂

The time just whizzed pasted in fact it felt more like an 8 hour chat with Gina than a 27.5 mile walk 🙂 and a great way to spend Mothers day.

The only disappointment was that Geoff didn’t pop up in the middle of a field !!

CRC come to Norfolk

These days I don’t walk as much as I would like too, mainly because I have to drive so far to get a decent walk and with the cost of fuel it becomes expensive.

photo (31)This weekend though I had no excuse as The Cambridge Rambling Club had booked to stay at The Old Red Lion Hostel in Castle Acre for a weekend of walking.

So I Invited a walking friend to stay with me and swapped my Purple bike for my walking boots and my Purple ruc-sac.

Saturday was a lovely bright sunny Norfolk day if a little windy and we walked 17 miles along some of the Peddars Way and Nar Valley Way, although we had to make a few diversions due to heavy flooded paths at times.

Today was a bitterly cold and much windier day but we  still managed 14 miles along the Nar Valley Way keeping away from the flooded fields and was grateful for no rain.

Nice to see so many snowdrops on our walks this weekend 🙂

After both walks we enjoyed tea and cake at the Churchgate Tea rooms where we were well looked after 🙂

My next walk is planned for 16th March with the LDWA who are walking from Sandringham and then The Daffodil Dawdle at the end of March…..

2013… what a Year !!

I ended 2013 with a very windy Ely 10km run.. no P/B today but was pleased with my time considering the conditions and the amount of exercise I had done in the past 4 days , which consisted of  a 5 mile run, 52 mile bike ride , 27 mile bike ride then 6 mile run today 🙂

IMG_11452013 has been a great year for me, I took on an extra contracted shift at Tesco doing a job that I actually enjoy and after much nagging I am getting more training too !

My little massage business continues to grow and gives me great pleasure 🙂

Joining the ladybird running club has changed my life and led me to parkrun and to Road biking with SWNC, where I have made some lovely like minded friends, and finally after all these years I feel that Kings Lynn is becoming home 🙂

Since August 2013 I have been logging my run and rides on strava and have done 1164 miles on my bike and 225 miles of running…..  in 2014 I think I will log my longer walks on dailymile just so I can see how many miles I walk, fitbit logs my day to day walking which adds up to quite a lot too

I have lots planned for 2014 including the wiggle no excuses 80 mile sportive ride, the GEAR 10km, the LDWA Daffodil dawdle 26 mile walk, the 100 mile Sandringham ride and maybe a half marathon in October and who knows what adventure I will get up to with Geoff…  !!

Tomorrow we start the New Year walking with CRC…

Catching up with CRC

Walking in the rain

As I was in Cambridge this weekend to collect my bike I thought it would be good to catch up and walk with CRC, especially as I had not walked with them since 28th July.

It was a 14 mile walk from Stow Cum Quy and when we arrived at the start the rain was so hard we stayed in the car waiting for it to pass over, after 10 mins it had turned to a drizzle so we set off on our way.

Its lovely walking at this time of year with all the Autumn colours so I really enjoyed the walk, just a shame that the last few miles was walked in torrential rain and I arrived home looking like a drowned rat !!

A few photo’s can be seen here

National Blue Trail

Tuesday 1st October

We escaped quite easily from Panorama Panzio and only had to pay for the one night even though we had booked for four

After our escape we jumped onto a bus to Sirok for a days walking along the National Blue Trail to Kekesteto .

The National Blue Trail is the oldest long distance footpath in Europe and forms part of the E4 and Kekesteto is the highest point in Hungary.

The Hungarian villages seem very remote with no shops, so when we left on the bus we had no food or water and was hoping to find a shop in Sirok, luckily we did and it was open 🙂

The National Blue Trail was well marked with a blue flash and we soon found our way.

National Blue Trail

The route was mainly through forrest but was well walked making it easy to find our way although we did not expect the never ending up and down which made it a much tougher longer walking day

When we finally arrived in Kekesteto it was getting dark. After realising there was no where to stay we carried on walking down the ski slope to Matrahaza.

Still no where to stay, by this time I thought we may end up sleeping in a bus shelter and funnily enough we tried getting a room at the sanatorium thinking it was a hotel !

Then thanks to the “Around Me app ” we discovered that a mile down the road was the 5 star Wellness hotel Ozon.

Luckily I had my torch and the road was not busy, we arrived safely at around 8pm to find not only did they have a room but food too so as we were both pretty tired we struck a deal and booked a room for the night 🙂