11/03/06

Welcome to my Web site!

Having been introduced to my website you are now privy to some facts about my family and I.

I was born somewhere in deepest Essex, sometime in 1970, so that makes me 36, there I've said it. After having learnt all of those important things in ones early years, such as walking and talking, I was sent to school until I had miraculously completed the basics of survival needed for entrance into the big bad world. I was 16 and those basic survival skills and education were not enough, every employer wanted more. Therefore, it was back to college to study for my 'A' levels (Chemistry and Physics). Well, I fell out of that ordeal with a Chemistry 'A' level to my name, but as for the Physics, I really should have spent less time in the Chinese Restaurant at lunchtimes!

As luck would have it, I was offered a job as a Lab Technician. Unfortunately, no sooner had I got my foot through the door and onto the first rung of the ladder some bugger removed the rest of the rungs! I enjoyed the job but, I could of earned more stacking shelves in a Superstore. So, it was back to the jobs pages and soon enough I was off to my next challenge. Yes, it was another Lab job and after another year unfulfilled it was time to honour a childhood dream.

The Royal Navy beckoned and 16 years later I must have made the right choice. It has given me the opportunity to buy a house, marry the love of my life and have two wonderful children. Of course, outside of all the family business, the Navy has taken me to some amazing, and not so amazing, places around the globe. However, these visits are very rarely holidays. It has been said that life in the Navy is a prison sentence, with the risk of drowning. Well, that it may be, but it has it's plus points.

Present day - Supporting the family as best as I can and looking forward to a well earned rest when they leave home.

Latest Blog

The Pennine Way 2006

Sometime last year Si, Nick and I decided that before we grew too old we would attempt to walk the Pennine Way, unsupported!

The Pennines is a range of hills in northern England, known as the ‘the backbone of England’. Its length (from the Scottish border to the Peaks in Derbyshire) is approximately 400 km/250 mi. The highest peak in the Pennines (which are sometimes referred to mountains rather than hills) is Cross Fell (893 m/2,930 ft). It is the watershed for the main rivers of northeast England.

The rocks of the Pennines are carboniferous limestone and millstone grit, the land high moor land and fell. The Pennine Way, Britain's first long-distance footpath (opened in 1965), extends along the length of the range.

Now that you know the facts I should point out that we only had two weeks in which to complete this arduous task. The route profiles, extracted from Memory Map by Si, looked at best daunting and at worst impossible! I have to admit that I was very apprehensive, the last time I had done any walking of this distance was way back in 1992. At 36 I’m know where near as fit or agile as I once was. This wasn’t helped by the weight of my rucksack. Having spent an absolute fortune on equipment I carefully loaded up the pack. I even filled the water bottles so as not to give a false weight. The only piece of equipment missing was the tent, yes I know they weigh a fair amount, but considering what was already stuffed into my 95 litre rucksack I thought it would be negligible. Oh dear.

My first job, after looking at my pack and hoping it would reduce in size, was to get it on my back. With a little help on it went. Well, I am not well enough versed in the English language to enable me to describe just how heavy it was. The facts were revealed when we finally decided to use the bathroom scales. On I stepped, without pack, 12 stone 4 pounds. On went the pack, 16 stone!!! I said I was apprehensive before, I was now positively petrified! However, I couldn’t pull out now without having even tried, that would be failure. So, on the 18^th June 2006 we loaded up the Ford Mondeo (Contour for you Americans) estate and headed off to Derbyshire.

We arrived at Edale campsite late that afternoon, unloaded and pitched our tents and ate some of the finest Ration Pack food the MOD can offer? All I can say is that it is very high calorie food which leaves a lasting taste!

Having consumed our dog food it was agreed that we should sample the local brew, to wash it down of course. The Old Nags Head was only a short distance up the road, so off we went. I wouldn’t say we were in a particularly jovial mood, what lied ahead was on all of our minds. Two very slow pints of Directors later the reality of what we were about to undertake was rapidly dawning. The only thing for it was to sleep and hope it would all go away!

The morning of the 19^th June was calm and slightly chilly, perfect for walking. Unfortunately, our first night under canvas had been an uncomfortable affair to say the least. You can never beat the comfort of your own bed! I’ve been camping many times before, however I don’t remember as many noises occurring as that night. Every creature that could make a noise did and even some that couldn’t! The wind didn’t help either! Yes, I did say it was calm outside, ha, ha!

After a hearty breakfast of burgers and beans (boil in the bag) and a strong cup of Tetley’s (that’s Tea for you Americans, lol), we were ready for the off. Well, up until the point I lifted up my rucksack I was, ouch!

Day One: Edale to Crowden, 16 miles, 9hr 15 min of walking, 909m ascending and 925m descending.

I have renamed day one “To Hell!” I was completely unprepared for what happened that day.

We set off from the campsite at about 0900 and walked up to the Old Nags Head. A left turn just before you reach the Pub takes you to the start of the Pennine Way. A quick stop at the Post Office for spare batteries and we were on our way.

 It wasn’t what I would call a gentle start, but what else did I expect? A road walk? Oh my naivety. However, as we emerged from the cover of the trees we could see back across the valley and what a beautiful view it was. Unfortunately, what lie ahead was Jacobs Ladder a gruelling ascent at the best of times, but with nearly four stone strapped to my back! Phew! We had a bit of a breather at the top and I managed to get a couple of photos, thanks for the memory.

Onward we plodded to Kinder Low (2076ft), didn’t seem that low to me! The terrain then levelled out past Mill Hill and across Featherbed Moss to Snake Pass. This part was fairly uninteresting with large stone slabs sunken into the vast peat bog to make easy going of what, in the past, must have been horrible.

Snake Pass, a road, was next on the horizon and another milestone. The next section was over Bleaklow and on a nice day probably very interesting with its deep peat gullies. However, the mist had closed in and visibility was down to 10-20m, it was like a scene from Hounds of the Baskervilles, I was just thankful there were no dogs lurking about.

From Bleaklow the trail became increasingly more difficult. It was steep and rocky with very little sign of a track to follow and after crossing Wildboar Grain the track became very narrow with a sheer drop far too close for comfort. I was very conscious of the extra weight on my back and my concentration was focused on nothing but staying upright. Whilst traversing this part both Nick and Si had twisted their ankles and knees respectively and morale was low.

Finally, we saw Torside reservoir in the distance which should have been a relief until we started the descent. The pounding my knees took on this descent was almost unbearable and we took a well deserved snack break at the bottom. Nearly there, or so we thought. Having had our rest we then had to walk another 2 miles to get to Crowden campsite! I wanted it to end so badly, but you can’t stop or else you just prolong the agony. Arriving at the campsite (1900) was a huge emotional relief, I dropped my pack and was close to tears. Not even the Navy had put me through something so gruelling, or was I just fitter then?

After pitching our tents and having dinner it was time to discuss the rest of our trek. There was no way I could that again the following day and fortunately neither could Nick or Si. That night we all decided that we could not complete the Pennine Way this time round. So, we took a rest day on Tuesday which we used to recalculate our route. This did work out quite well as we got to see England play Sweden in the World Cup, in the strangest of circumstances. The campsite manager kindly allowed us to watch the match on his plasma TV, through his mobile home window, whilst we sat on plastic chairs in the washing block. Strange indeed, but we did see the match.