RIP Blog?

We made a fatal mistake at the weekend.... we popped into our favourite computer store (because of my job in the tech industry, I can't plug them, but you know who I mean) to see what the big daddy, new sparkly version of our current sick computer looked like..... and walked out with it, a whole lot poorer for the pleasure. We just couldn't leave the store without bringing it home with me.

So, I now have the means to update my blog with tales and pictures from the walk. However, this new machine has a bundle of uber-cool software and online gubbins that makes web publishing a lot easier and quicker for me and a lot better to read/view for friends and family. I'm going to play around with it at the weekend to see if it's better than blogger - the demo blew me away.

Disasters come in 3's

I still haven't updated my blog with photos and tales from my recent walk because of a massive technology failure in the house of Redneps.

First, my Leica digital camera screen shattered, which means that it is now somewhere in deepest Germany being repaired by a very professional (and no doubt expensive) technician. Second, the day after I downloaded all 605 X 6 mega pixel photographs from the trek onto our computer at home, it crashed and died. No surprise, eh? Luckily, I have them backed up safely in two places, but I can't access them until we decide whether to repair it or bite the bullet and get a new one. So, until we get this little conundrum sorted out, the blog is going to suffer.

Oh, and the third disaster was that my cherished walking/climbing boots fell to pieces five days into the walk. They are only five years old, which may seem like a long time, but they are only used 5+ weekends a year for climbing, which means they have only been worn for about 50 days. Considering the effusive claims of the highly respected manufacturer, Meindl (I'm beginning to realise that all my technical stuff, from car to camera to climbing equipment is built by the Germans!), and the fact that they originally cost the earth, I'm hoping for a positive response to the evaluation they are currently undergoing (also) in Germany.

Stratford on Avon to London: DONE!

I want to let my sponsors know that I have earned my money! On Sunday, I completed the walk from Stratford on Avon to London on schedule; 146 miles over open countryside in nine days (actually, 8.5 days). I have 605 photographs and a journal full of notes to sort through, but I will abbreviate them for the blog in the coming week. In the meantime, here's a picture of the finish line at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre on the Thames with my coach on my shoulders.

At the Start

Here I am at mile 0 of 146 early on Saturday morning, outside the birthplace of William Shakespeare in Stratford upon Avon...... next stop, Shipston on Stour 17 miles south.

The route I will follow for the next nine days is detailed in a previous post below.

The time has come

Tomorrow morning at 8am, I finally begin "the walk".... 146 miles from Stratford upon Avon to London in nine days, raising funds for the Shakespeare Hospice.

As you'll see from the box on the right, we (you!) have raised more than £1400, but the actual total is £2,628.89 which accounts for the £1,000 donated by my company and a few off-line sponsorships. I'm humbled by the incredible generosity of my friends and colleagues all around the world.

If you have not yet sponsored me, don't worry!! You still can!! Please click the link -- every penny counts.

I will not be updating my blog along the way because a) I want to get as far away as humanly possible from any personal computing device b) there is a distinct lack of internet cafes in the middle of the countryside. I will, however, update the blog in glorious detail once I return to civilisation.

Now the only thing left to do is get those boots on and get walking.........

The Kit (and a competition!)

At the weekend, I pulled together my kit for the walk. I started by gathering everything I would like to take. That created a pile of stuff that Hercules himself could not have lifted. I then sorted through the original pile to create a new one that only contained the stuff I needed. It was still too much. So I sacrificed everything but essentials to create the final kit list, captured in this picture. It all fits snugly in my trusty sack from New Zealand, also pictured here. It weighs 12kg without food/water for one day, 14kg with (30lbs). It's a little heavier than I would like, but I can't get it any lighter.

The plan is to only have two sets of clothes -- one to wear each the day, wash that evening and dry overnight, with a clean set to change into each evening and wear the subsequent day (hence the clothes line and pegs). I have to take walking trousers plus waterproof jacket/trousers due to the extremes of weather we have experienced in the past few months. I'll be taking a sun hat too, but I'm not counting on using it!

I have bought a little pedometer to take along with me. It measures the number of steps, calories burnt, distance walked and time spent walking. I'll be taking note of each of these metrics at the end of each day and I'll total up all the figures at the end. I'm thinking this would make for a good competition (for the sad people in my life) -- so guess the total number of steps, calories and time spent walking at the end of the entire trek (except mileage, which should be 146 miles). If you'd like to guess, email me directly with your best guesstimate. I'll publish the winners at the end.