Coast to coast path

The girls braved the driving rain and strong winds yesterday to attempt a 30 mile walk from Camborne to Devoran and back via Portreath and the coast to coast path. Our waterproofs quickly proved that they didn't quite live up to their name and we huddled in a bus shelter in Portreath to call our support crew leader and arrange for assistance. Dave met us at the office in Scorrier 10 miles into the walk with hot pasties, hot drinks and dry clothes and from there me and Mum pushed on to Devoran (Linz had decided that enough was enough and she needed to go home and get out of her soaked clothes). The weather didn't improve and it wasn't long before we started to get wet again but we were spurred on by the thought of completing our longest distance yet and we eventually completed 32 miles in approximately 10 hours.

April's training has been varied and challenging. I've walked over 360,000 steps and covered almost 200 miles since the first of the month. Yesterday's walk alone burned over 2400 calories according to my pedometer and I've lost count of the number of chocolate bars I've consumed since training began!

Waterproofs at the ready

The weather forecast for Sunday is for strong winds and heavy rain so Team Gould have made the decision to stay away from cliff top coast paths we might slip on or be blown off! The plan is to walk 30 miles this time (our greatest distance yet) and to stay inland to try to avoid the worst of the weather. We're aiming to incorporate the Portreath to Devoran coast to coast path in the route and hope to complete the distance in 9.5 hours.

Fundraising update

Team Gould Electronics are back at the top of Oxfam's fundraising leader board and the £1000 donation made by our wonderful director last week hasn't updated yet.

Winter's return

Winter returned for yesterday's training walk from Perranporth to Godrevy Point. Lindsey was keen to try out her knew waterproof trousers so the rain held off but the wind was relentless and we were blasted from all angles for the duration of the walk. Gould Electronics' newest employee James has offered to act as a stand in just in case anyone else has to pull out before July and he gamely joined us at Porthtowan to walk the remainder of the distance. Mum and I have done this route before and knew that there are several tough climbs between Perranporth and Portreath but they didn't pose as great a challenge as before and we completed the 18 miles in a little under seven hours, pretty good going in such strong winds. The team were impressed with James' efforts and hope that the new blisters he is nursing this morning haven't put him off.

Another 25 mile training walk

We did the same route as last weekend yesterday because Ewan wanted a chance to make 25 miles. It was freezing cold when we set off from Camborne at 8am but there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature soon climbed. The walk along the beach from Godrevy to Hayle was a pleasure in the sunshine and my unscheduled detour on the dunes (trying to avoid a fence we were forced to climb last week) only added a few minutes to our time. This is a fairly varied walk with sections through bluebell-filled woodland, across beaches, sand dunes and rugged cliff tops, and we had the added excitement yesterday of having to rescue a sheep which had broken through a fence dangerously close to the cliff edge! I was much less tired last night than after the previous weekend's 25 miles walk and 60 miles is seeming less daunting each week. I fear I may be saying farewell to one of my toenails soon however but I guess this is a pretty small price to pay.

New team member

Team Gould were saddened by the recent news that Lizzie would be unable to continue training with us but we were fortunate to find a replacement in Lindsey Higman. Linz has been out on a number of training walks with us already and managed a fantastic 25 miles with me and Mum yesterday. Our newbie regrettably failed to notice the naked ass a young surfer was displaying in Godrevy car park but we were all amused to note the number of tourists taking photos of cows in a nearby field (especially when immediately behind them was some of the most stunning coastal scenery in Cornwall and a number of dozing seals!). The training is obviously paying off because I'm relatively ache-free today but my feet are definitely suffering and the flip flops might have to stay in the wardrobe this summer!

Slips, trips, bumps and shocks

Team Gould met at 9am on Sunday morning to walk from St Ives to Sennen Cove. I'd researched the route and knew that the first leg (St Ives to Pendeen) was going to be fairly tough with lots of climbs but I had no way of knowing how rocky, muddy and slippery the paths were going to prove to be. The morning was full of mishaps with Mum tripping on a rock and falling on her face (with a walking pole in each hand she wasn't able to stop her fall) and Linz sinking ankle deep into mud on a couple of occasions (unfortunately I was to blame at least once for not getting out of her way quickly enough). I slipped three times while descending the steep path and landed hard enough on one occasion to bruise and scratch myself then Linz and I each got an electric shock while stepping over a stile (the sign warning about the electric fence was on the other side of the stile, fine for those walking from the opposite direction, not so great for us). It took us nearly six arduous hours to complete the first ten miles of the route and another three to reach St Just. We resigned ourselves to not reaching Sennen Cove in the time we'd allowed for the walk and after nearly nine hours of walking decided to head home for a much needed soak in a bath and a well deserved rest.