Training walk 2 - Leeds Liverpool canal

The next training walk took in the Leeds to Liverpool Canal, from the basin in Leeds to Bingley train station. How long would you expect this to take on the train? Well I’ll tell you, just under 20 minutes. How long would it take to walk that distance though? We covered the distance, a fairly easy walk of generally flat terrain totalling 17 miles in 5 hours. Given that we were able to stick to the towpath that runs alongside the canal we were able to walk at a pretty fast pace. I think at this point it really started to hit home as to just how long a day it would be when we do the 22 mile stretch on day 3, between Chollerford and Gilsland. Not to mention that we’ll of course have all the armour on at that point too! I think it’s safe to assume that walking at the pace we did along the canal would likely inflict severe pain if we attempted it in full armour all day long. We’ll certainly have to learn to pace ourselves much better and look to take things easier on the harder, hilly parts of the Hadrian’s walk. We’ll have to do this to make sure we are able to make it to our check points at the end of each day.

Hopefully by the end of June it will have warmed up a little and will feel no where near as cold as it did along the canal side. It is just the week after our snow walk and so there is still a chill in the air. The snow on the ground has all but melted away with only small pockets remaining, hidden away at the bottom of walls where the warm sunlight doesn’t get to. The canal is frozen over in large areas and is thick enough that you can throw rocks out on to it and they’ll just bounce off without smashing through. We’d tried this out a few times and the walk soon started to form a similar 5 minute cycle of walk, walk, walk, walk, stone, throw, whack!, “Bloody hell, hasn’t even gone through!”…walk, walk, walk, walk, stone….
Daft I know but it passed the time!

Between all the walking and ice smashing we’d pass other walkers and cyclists out enjoying the crisp fresh air. It’s always nice passing people while out walking as you can always guarantee that you’ll get a smile and a nod and a friendly “Hi”, “Morning”, or a good old Yorkshire “’Ow do”. Rob too made a new friend in the form of a small dog out for a walk with its owner. Fido too passed on its own brand of excitable greeting as it bound toward him and headed straight for his leg, I’ll say no more than that though and leave the rest for you to decipher for yourselves!

Mile by mile passed by and we were nearing Bingley station knowing that in around 2 and a half miles, we’d reach our destination for the day and be able to grab a pint before taking the train back to Leeds station. The 2 and a half miles, at our current pace, should have taken us around 45 minutes. Needless to say, the lure of the pub being so close did hasten the final stage of the walk, just a tad.

30 minutes later, beer in hand, we sat back to catch the second half of the Italy Vs Ireland Six Nations game and after that headed back to Leeds, the quick way, chooo chooo!

Simon