Distance: 9 miles
Ascent: 1,400 feet
Time: 3 hours 20
Weather: Cool & mainly bright. Strong wind at times.
Conditions: Initial section across muddy fields. Then on road.
After several days spent convincing myself that I'm not up to the challenge it is good to get started. At least now we'll find out for sure. After the long drive north, tea and a rather substantial scone in the beach cafe, we went through the time honoured start of Coast to Coast ceremony. I collected pebbles from the beach and dipped my feet in the sea.
Ali and I then headed east on foot whilst Sherpa Dave and Mum drove across to the B&B at Ennerdale Bridge before walking back to meet us. In fact they walked close to 3 miles back to us making for a considerable round-trip.
I'd opted for a direct route for this first stage, although this meant scaling a bigger than expected hill in the first two miles. Surely a taste of things to come. As we walked across the highest part of the hill into a cutting easterly wind I mentioned to Ali that one of the reasons most people walk from west to east is to have the prevailing wind (westerly) at their backs! Spring is late this year and the wind is coming from Siberia rather than the Atlantic.
It may be ominous that during our final mile or two into Ennerdale the warmth of the sun, such as it was, faded and the breeze picked up noticeably. Blizzards are forecast for tomorrow. Is this the weatherman being over-cautious or are we in for an interesting day?
I'm glad to to be on my way, although a couple of hours after finishing I feel more tired than I should after what wasn't an especially challenging section by the Coast to Coast standards. This is a bit of a worry because tomorrow is one of the very toughest stages. It is also the most remote and I will be on my own for most of it.
Maybe the lack of training over the last month or my slow recovery from man-flu is affecting me? Maybe I will wake up in the morning feeling fit and ready to go?
Good luck, Chris
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