Shall we start at Stage 1? No, how about Stage 3?

This post is all about our first training walk on a part of the actual Trailwalker course. Well, for half the team anyway.

This morning Gem & Gubbs headed to meet with Gem's parents and half of Hardcore Four's support crew, Tracy and Peter.  Tracy and Peter live within the South Downs National Park and so they provided Gem & Gubbs with a guided walk of stage three of the Trailwalker course, Cocking to Littleton Farm (8.3km).

After venturing away from the car park and road, we quickly realised that the path was paved with snow and ice.  Ever keen to use new equipment, we found very quickly how useful the walking poles were to stay on our feet.  No 'You've Been Framed' moments thankfully.

On the way we saw a host of wildlife, including a herd of deer (twice), voles and field mice, plus the usual farm cattle and sheep.  We caught the deer on camera - not a great video, but is attached for your viewing 'pleasure'.

The stage is relatively easy as although there is an initial ascent, there is little variation in gradient until the dip at the end.

It was a beautiful morning for a walk, and although snow covered, it was quite mild considering how cold it has been.


We reached the end of the route in two hours, had a quick banana break, turned around, and then headed back the way we came to the car park.

We plan to add more photos to our Facebook page over the next week or so.  Please check it out and if you have a Facebook account why not 'Like' us to get more updates from us as and when they are posted.

Check back for another blog update tomorrow once we've had our first team training walk.