Peter really knows his sh*t!

This weekend saw the team each having their own training plans. Gem and Gubbs met up with support team members Tracy & Peter again for another walk over the Downs. This week we decided to go for stage five, this is Houghton to Washington, a 12.5km (just under 8 mile) section with a total of 280 metre ascent.

The first thing learnt was that the Trailwalker course check points do not necessarily have a car park by them when it isn't the actual event. We ended up parking up a relatively small distance from each check point, though it made navigation a little more interesting while trying to slip back on to course. For example, walking down a busy road for the first mile did not make for an exciting experience, however, when on route we were taken through some beautiful countryside providing us with some amazing views.

Before we hit the South Downs Way route we stumbled across a pub which had a historic link to the past.  It's sign above the door stated that Charles II had stopped there in 1651 after the battle of Worcester to take Ale. We decided against taking Ale this early on a Saturday morning and ploughed on.

In to the second mile we hit a pretty steep ascent. We approached Amberley Mount and to be honest we felt a little intimidated! This looked like a 45% incline! We powered on up safe in the knowledge that Gem's home made flapjack was waiting to be served up at the top. This was Gem's first attempt at the flapjack and we'll hope to see a plenty more of it on future walks!

Dr Dung investigates

As we carried on on the South Downs way we happened upon a large pile of steaming, freshly delivered manure. This is when Peter en-parted the rest of us with his rich manure knowledge! Apparently, according to the consistency, colour and content, this was most definitely horse manure. Gem promptly named Peter "Dr Dung" in response. It lead to commentary and reviews each time we passed similar piles. These are the kind of things we discuss on these walks! Last week we had the Stile Index this week the Dung Directory. What in the world will it be next week?

Gem & Gubbs navigating

The weather was perfect for the time of year, and such a contrast in temperature to the last Downs walk 3 weeks ago in the snow. When the sun was out it was definitely t-shirt weather. It also showed us how exposed you are up there to the sun which is something to think about in July in the heat of summer.

The Trailwalker guide suggests that for a team aiming to hit a total of 24 hours you should complete the course in 3 hours. We completed the route (including the small detours due to parking) in just under three hours which we were pretty happy about as we had a couple of short stops on the way.

Julie was training alone this week and she walked 12 miles which was two laps of her usual 6 training route from home. She then kept those muscles warm by dancing the night away at a Motown night!  Good effort Julie! She's pushing up the distance now, which the whole team will be looking to do also soon.

Finally, Party Jo's training this weekend consisted of walking around Clapham in her really high sparkly shoes, which must count for something right??