Hereward Way Walking Weekend
On 9th to 11th August 2002
This event was organised by Andy Farrell and Maxine Bates, with Andy Pell, being the 'local lad', leading the way. I joined this walk along the Hereward Way on the Saturday and Sunday, so I missed the Friday portion of the walk past Rutland Water. Those who did this first part of the walk seemed to enjoy themselves, despite the rather damp weather. Most of us stayed in Oakham.
On the Saturday, we started walking in Ketton. There were 13 of us for this part of the journey. The weather, although overcast, remained dry during the morning. We walked past very picturesque stone cottages, through fields of barley and assorted meadows until we arrived at the Riverside restaurant in Stamford. At this point the sun was out and we enjoyed a very pleasant lunch alfresco. So much for the heavy rain which had been forecast. Seven of us continued for the next leg of the journey, whilst others ducked out to go sightseeing at Oakham Castle and the Yew Tree Avenue topiary walk. Some parts of this route were through ploughed fields and we were literally following footprints to stay on course. It was much warmer now and this led to us using up our water supplies by the time we had reached Southorpe. But fortunately Andy Farrell came to our rescue with much needed water and choc-ices. Shortly after getting refreshed we got our one and only soaking of the day, which was mercifully short-lived. So we walked on.....and on.....and on. This was turning into a very long 13 miles! Eventually we arrived in Ailsworth, after dodging the odd bull and crossing numerous water hazards. The party gathered together for an evening meal at L.A.'s, an Italian restaurant in Oakham (where by chance the owner was a Mensan!). After a brief stop at the off-licence, socialising continued back at our accommodation.
Restarting on Sunday and making a small diversion to avoid one of the aforementioned water hazards, seven of us headed along the banks of the River Nene towards Peterborough. The sun made occasional appearances and it stayed dry all day, thankfully. Of course this time, we had made sure we had plenty of water with us. The journey along the riverbank was varied and interesting. We passed some sort of regatta event as we approached our lunch stop in Peterborough. Again, with the sun shining, we were able to eat alfresco. After lunch, six of us embarked on the last part of the journey. This was towards the Fens, again following the River Nene. We finished up at a reconstructed Bronze Age village at Flag Fen. I was satisfied with myself for walking all day Saturday and Sunday, but special congratulations to Andy Pell and John Ross, the only two to complete the whole distance. Nearly 40 miles in total, according to GPS readings. Although this is much disputed by Andy "Eight Diamonds to a Mile" Farrell!
I now have 7.23 blisters....approximately. And one dodgy knee.
Mark Sloan