Cumbria Way, day four

Caldbeck to Carlisle

Miles walked: 14
Highest point reached: Not very high really.

Conscious that this walk was originally going to be a kick start to resuming my diet I chose to forgo a full English breakfast and went for scrambled egg instead. The pain and distress I felt watching everyone else stuffing sausage and bacon down their gullets however was almost unbearable. Why is all the nice food fattening dammit?

As my brother Sam pointed out in the comments of my last post, I had originally told everyone that the last day was going to be ten miles long. However more detailed research with my map and the wire from my headphones revealed it was more like fourteen.

Still, what’s four miles between friends.

The going was pretty easy, although there was a particularly muddy patch towards the beginning which required a fair bit of inventive clambering. There were also a couple of rather treacherous stiles, with Rich Bassinder getting wedged in one of them, and the other requiring mountaineering equipment like crampons and ice axes.

Due to the lack of hills the scenery was much less dramatic than on the previous three days. But never-the-less it was very pleasantly pastoral and rather reminiscent of some of the landscape we walked through in the Yorkshire Dales last year. Apart from the trains obviously.

According to the weather forecast we were due scattered showers, but on the whole we managed to escape it. There was a couple of periods of intense rain, but in concordance to Murphy’s law by the time we had all unpacked and donned our waterproofs it had pretty much passed.

I don’t know how the others were feeling on that last day, but I was pretty keen to get home. Day three had been the big challenge and therefore somehow felt like the end of the walk. In my mind that last fourteen miles to Carlisle was just a formality. Plus I was missing Kerry and the kids and had a big list in my head of things to do in the garden once I got back. As a group we started discussing whether we would be able to switch our train tickets to an earlier time and I must admit that the thought of getting home in time to put the kids to bed was extremely appealing.

As a result of this our pace began to quicken and the walk started to take on the tone of a endurance test rather than a leisurely stroll. This meant I didn’t take as many photos as I had done the previous days (although to be fair there wasn’t as much to take photos of; and anyway the others were getting a little tired of me sticking my lens in their faces every three seconds.)

Eventually however through various texts and messages we discovered that we’d be unable to change our tickets without paying a very hefty £40 admin fee, so we decided to slacken off the pace a bit and try to enjoy what remained of the walk.

The end of the Cumbria Way was a little more anticlimactic than last year’s Dales Way. Mainly because there were no crowds of cheering groupies to welcome us in (ok, so there were only four people and a couple of kids last time, but it did feel very nice).

Also by the end we had been walking for an hour through the streets of Carlisle, which did not have the same opportunities for al fresco urination as the previous 50 odd miles of countryside had done. As a result at least three of us were absolutely desperate for the toilet so as soon as we touched the walls of Carlisle Castle (the official end to the walk) we all dissipated in a frantic quest for a public loo. I didn’t even have time to take a proper group photo.

Craig left us at this point to go and find his partner Caroline who was standing in a mystery car park somewhere at the other end of the castle. So all that was left was for Rich, Rich, Dave, Sam, and myself to have a couple of pints of beer, stuff our faces with Mexican food, then finally drag ourselves onto the train for the two and a bit hour journey home.

Did I enjoy the walk? Yes I did. In fact it was bloody fantastic. I enjoyed the camaraderie and the laughter; particularly enjoying spending a bit of time with my brother Sam who, despite his obvious character flaws, is an alright chap really. I also enjoyed the fact that at no point during the walk did I feel that it was a struggle. Sure going up the hills wasn’t particularly pleasant, but I always felt I could manage it. The whole thing brought it home to me how much fitter I am now than I was last year; and to be honest, that feels pretty good.

But most of all I think I enjoyed the opportunity to get outside my life for a while. On the walk I wasn’t a dad and I wasn’t a nurse; I was Dan. Probably the same Dan that I was in my early twenties. And while I’d much prefer to be where I am now, it’s very refreshing to escape it for a while. The fresh air and the simple act of putting one foot in front of another has reinvigorated me; and that can never be a bad thing.

I’m still not sure exactly what’s happening next year. The idea of expanding the personnel significantly and tackling Hadrian’s wall and raising money for The Joseph Salmon Trust is still very much out there. And if we do do that then you’re all going to be invited.

I’ll keep you informed.

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