Four get lost in Bucks

Team walk 1 was a circular walk from Saunderton Station to, er, Saunderton Station.  We started out, with varying levels of enthusiasm, at 9 am on a beautiful clear and frosty Sunday morning.  We had GPS (but Nick hadn’t downloaded the map) and no OS map, just an excessively detailed guide book that somehow had the wrong kind of detail.  It got us as far as the woods with no problems, but thereafter we were faced with a mess of bridle ways, public footpaths and unmarked footpaths that had us flummoxed.  Not to mention frozen mud that gave way under the weight of the one person not wearing waterproof footwear - me!  Yet, guided by the iron-filings in Nick’s nose and some kind folk with two beautiful weimaraners, we made it to the De Le Spencers Arms and back on track for the Dashwood Mausoleum.  The path to which (from the Hellfire club) was a hamstring stretching ascent punctuated by cries of ‘Don’t stop!’  Thereafter it was plain-sailing, the only hair-raising moment being Alex’s nearly interrupted open air comfort break.

So a good first walk, a little slow (averaging about 4.5 km/hr) but no tantrums, no significant pain, lovely weather and some beautiful vistas.  I was expecting a bit of rubbing from my Asics, after they unexpectedly produced a small blister during my 12 km walk into work on Friday, but happily it looks like that may have been a freak incident.  I’ll keep an eye on it though, because Walworth Road is significantly harder underfoot than the Bucks countryside. 

For those (few) with an interest in footwear choices, I’ve been walking and running in Asics with orthotic insoles for about 3 years with few foot problems.  I like the fact that they’re both light and cushioned.  For the big event, I’m considering looking into some trail shoes, but I’ll probably end up wearing my Asics with a pair of thin socks during the day and switch over to my old Karrimors for the night walk.  From experience, that switch over to a more spacious shoe once my feet are good and swollen is absolute bliss!  And fortunately, my orthotics fit in both.