Stand by, stand by...

THURSDAY: Luton to Wiltshire

Today I went on the train to Swindon. My grandma met us and drove us to her house. On the way we made a small detour and buried a package of food and water. We will collect these supplies the day after tomorrow, on our second day of walking.



9.42am: Luton station

10.08am: On a train to London.

12.13pm: Waiting room at Paddington station

12.45pm: Paddington waiting



12.49pm: The merits of Devon, painted on a Rhino. Go figure.

12.55pm: Watching the departures board

12.55pm: What I was watching



1.33pm: Second train - this one to Swindon

We had an amazing barbecue at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was probably our last "proper" meal for a week! We also went for a walk with Grandpa up the hill behind the house.

6.55pm: On a hill. First of many? Dad won't say.

6.56pm: I had no idea we were being followed.

6.57pm: This is not a simulation.

6.57pm: The goats are very friendly.

6.59pm: Grandma and Grandpa's village.

7.01pm: Me, a goat, my grandpa, and a big lump.

7.05pm: Cereology doesn't really do it for me.

7.22pm: A car painted like a narrowboat.

7.35pm: Gnomes. Okaaaay...
(Dad wishes to make it known that this is NoT his parents' house!)

Now to bed. Tomorrow it starts.

Training "walk" 5.5km, elevation gain 110m

Today we tried to break our time record for reaching the top of Warden Hill from home.
 

 

Last time we tried we did it in 1½ hours without rucksacks. Today we were carrying full loads and did it in 1 hour 10 minutes.

 

 

We won't be walking that fast in August. (Today we averaged 3mph, but we're planning for 1.8mph on the Ridgeway.) This is all about getting as fit as possible so that the big walk will be enjoyable. Well, that's what Dad keeps telling me.

It was quite windy at the top.

Got another sponsor!

Thank you so much Elaine Bateman, who was a student at The Open University at the same time as my mum and dad.

£728.76 is the new total! That's more than half way to my target! Thanks again to everyone who has sponsored me. If you possibly can, please share a link to my blog or my giving page.

Latest total

Thank you very much Barbara Joiner for kindly sponsoring my walk. The total is now £716.26 (incl. Gift Aid).

 



 

 

I think word is starting to spread because some of my recent sponsors aren't people I know. (I think Barbara might have read about me on Facebook.) This is great, as the more people who know, the more likely I'll get sponsors, which means more cash for Luton Foodbank's amazing work, which means fewer people going hungry.



12km training walk via Caddington

Today my little brother came with us. We walked 12km and it was quite hot. But not as hot as some of our other training walks. Still, we used loads of Factor 50 and drank plenty of water.

This is just after we started.

This is when we first left the streets of Luton and headed into the countryside.

I'm smiling because we'd just had a snack!

I was leading the way!

This time we brought a torch for the tunnel!

These woods were very boggy.

Ice-cream break in Caddington.

This dog's name is Snoopy and he's not a beagle. Is that even legal?

Running to catch up after a call of nature.

Third time I've stopped for a rest on this log. First time it's been daylight!

He didn't stop talking. Really. He didn't. Stop. Talking.

Us with a giant wooden squirrel.

Getting near home again, and looking forward to a rest.

New total: £711.26

Thank you so much, Anonymous Person for bringing the sponsorship to £711.26 and for your lovely message. I'm now 51% of the way to my target! But with only a couple of months to go it would be so helpful if anyone reading this could share links to my walk pages. Luton Foodbank is very short on some important food items these days. Spread the word! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

 

 

Training walk and camping in the rain