DONE IT !!!!!!
We started, we walked, we finished !!!!!
What an experience! We set off from Malvern at 6am, by ten past I thought I was going to be extremely ill and by twenty past I was convinced I was going to die. I got really worried that I was going to die on the same day as Michael Jackson, I'd have never made the newspapers!!!
After the first hill climb up onto the Malverns my heartbeat started to calm down and I didn't feel so bad.... and I hadn't dropped to the back of the pack! David and Adam had briefly disappeared in to the mist ahead of me but thankfully they were waiting for me (I actually think they'd got lost already, and that wasn't going to be the last time!)
We arrived at our first check point, The Talbot at Knightwick, at about 9.30am. The bacon butty (ok I had more than 1, Adams was going spare!) was great. Just after we'd arrived the rain came down, the folks following us were drenched. As we set off up Ankerdine Hill the rain had stopped and the skies looked to be clearing.
Next stop, The Admiral Rodney, we met Mike Dunnett there. Quick off loading of the excess food I'd packed in my rucksack. Best bit of advice I heard was... Listen to everyone and then pack half of it! Wish I'd heard the advice BEFORE the day!
Within minutes of The Admiral the skies opened again and it poured it down for a full 3 hours. Thunder rumbled around as one point. We were soaked to the skin! Sometime during this section disaster struck..... my Blackberry got water logged and stopped working! My other phone packed in as well so suddenly I had no phone, no email, no music to listen to... TOTAL NIGHTMARE!
This section of the walk was a real challenge. Not only were we soaked through but the hill paths became very greasy. Walking up them was difficult but going down was 3 times as difficult. At times I felt more like a downhill skier than a walker!
As we walked down the very steep grass bank to the back gates of Abberley School, Dick Brown rang Adam to find out where we were. He was waiting at the school gates with a motivational speech and food! if it hadn't have been so misty he would have seen David doing his double twist and flip off the sheep track - probably not the 'right thing' to say but it was HILARIOUS and certainly the highlight of the day! David flew through the air with Leki poles swinging like windmill sails! He managed to land on a well padded part of his body and no damage was done and amazingly he didn't land in anything smelly!
From the school onwards I thought the trail got flatter but oh no, it doesn't! Loaded up with jelly beans we set off on the last third of the walk, it was about 3pm. It had taken us about 9 hours to cover the first 20 or so miles. David had always maintained that the last part of the walk was going to be the hardest part, and he was right!
The rolling Worcestershire countryside is apparently very beautiful. I can't comment as I spent the next few miles looking down at the ground in front of my feet! The hills in this section aren't maybe as steep but they're long slow climbs. I think I started to slightly lose the plot at this stage. Without my phone I couldn't play any music and we were all long past conversation. Not that was much of an option as I was usually 20 yards behind David who was 10 yards behind Adam! For some very strange reason I kept singing the same song over and over in my head..... Doe, Ray, Me!!!!! Crazy!!
The last hill down to Bewdley was fantastic. I got so excited I actually sped up and overtook Adam and David for a few minutes!! I think the thought of beer, or an overdose of Jelly Beans took over!
We arrived at Bewdley Rowing Club at 6.45pm, twelve and three quarter hours after leaving Malvern town centre. We stopped for about an hour in total during the day. 31 miles, numerous hills, mist, rain and thunder but we did it!
Massive thanks to David and Adam for keeping me company, I'm sure they never thought I was serious when I said a year ago that I wanted to do the Worcestershire Way. Thanks to Mike and Dick for providing the support. And a huge thanks to everyone at St Richards for organising the whole event. The work they must have to do before and on the day is colossal.
The money you've all donated is brilliant. The page will stay open for sometime yet so donations are still welcome!
Boyd
