WE DID IT!!!

We gathered at the Hadrian Lodge Hotel in Wallsend in Newcastle in the afternoon of the 31 of August. Some of the guys didn’t know each other well so we went for the traditional get to know you routine of having a few beers and swapping stories. The most obvious talking point and difference in the group was the fact that 3 of us (Chris, Andy and Oggy) were all carrying 30 – 45lbs back packs with the other 3 (Mikey, T and Routhy) having school satchels on their back weighing no more than about 10ilbs. The debate went long into the night as to who’s was the better approach, but ultimately the lads with the bigger bags were very jealous…..

CALM BEFORE THE STORM (31.4 Miles)

We began the next morning (Thursday) with a continental breakfast at 6:30am; none of us had slept well as we were all anxious about the next three days and eager to start. The group got underway at 7:30am and reached the start of the wall at 7:45am, we had 30 miles to go. The 3 bag heavy lads were feeling the strain, with Oggy continually looking out for a post office to send some stuff home with him as after 20 minutes his bag was killing him.

The first 10 miles took us through Newcastle city centre along the Tyne without much incident. We did however set the tone for the three days most annoying trait which was trying to recount the famous Geordie songsmith Chris Rea’s best hits, settling on the beach whose main riff was repeated continuously in our heads over the challenge.

We broke around 11am at a strange little community centre café in Lemington for some food and tea and then set off again for 11:30am. The route continued to take us along the Tyne where we finally got out of some pretty unattractive parts of Newcastle and into rolling countryside which made a nice change. So far we’d been setting a good pace and were in high spirits. The first climb took us up about 300 feet from the Tyne into Heddon on the Wall whereby we found a really nice little Deli called Dingle Dell tucked away behind a nursery and we broke for lunch. Some inappropriate Vaseline application near a nursery caused much mirth prior to us setting off for the afternoon stint still with another 14 miles to go.

We hiked through fields, but were mainly following the main B6318 road through the Pennines. We were all in pretty good shape initially but all, bar Routhy who was still in his espadrilles, did start to flag when some blisters and fatigue started to kick in around mile 28. With delusions of massage and fine food we made the final approach to the Hadrian Hotel in Wall to finish the day having completed over 31 miles. Showered, bathed and changed we all went for dinner complaining of various ailments, none however more Serious than T’s who had to pour his own blood out of his shoes due to the amount of blood blisters that burst in his boots. This was going to lead to even more problems further down the line. A couple of pints and off to bed with a little fear about the following day.

 

THE 3 DAY DAY (32 Miles)

Again up at 6:00am, Continental breakfast, and we were off by 7:15am. Mikey already had a bad ankle, as did Routhy (which had stopped him wearing his boots), Oggy had developed some nasty blisters, and Chris and Andy were in a similar way, but T’s blood blisters were causing the largest issue as it was causing him to walk differently and put pressure on his shins which started to develop into shin splints.

The route took us through Chollerford and a continuing uphill climb where we finally left the road and started to hit the more challenging terrain and peaks of the Pennines. So far we were all going along fine other than the odd stand-off with a field of bulls.

As the terrain began to get more difficult the weather closed in and we got our first real taste of rain and a headwind. The hills were relentless and were starting to show up the injuries and flaws we all had with Mikey (who had now been renamed Gandalf due to his long walking stick and white poncho) and Oggy continuously bringing up the rear.

A quick tea stop at the Hadrian’s Wall Museum where we had to sit out in the rain and wind did little for morale and we set off in the rain heading higher into the hills. To terrain continued to be unforgiving and sapping stamina whereby Oggy proclaimed that if we didn’t stop for Lunch he was going to collapse. A quick stop and the generous gift of some painkillers from a stranger to T we set off again at 2pm knowing we still had over 17 miles to go. A chat with a fellow rambler at the bottom of a ravine near Robin Hood’s tree did little to help matters when we told him our end destination that day: he just shook his head, blew out his cheeks and said you’ll never make it, its miles!! Twat!

We carried on in a similar mood and make up, with T know joining the invalid bunch bringing up the rear. For anyone that doesn’t know T, he is a quiet man of iron who is normally at the front and to see him suffering was particularly bad for morale. The injuries and the terrain were really slowing us up however we still thought we were going to make it to the bunkhouse in Walton for 9pm.

We strove on and at the village of Gilsland tried to bring the group back together and bumped into an unfortunately helpful man who again on telling him our end destination just shook his head and blew out his cheeks saying “you’re mad” it’s another 9 miles and offering  us a lift. It was already gone 6pm. Oggy was probably suffering the most at this point and the last thing we wanted him to hear was this. A little bit of a breakdown and some stern talking we were underway in the foulest of moods. This mood became worse when Chris and Andy decided to look at the last page of the map at our final destination that day. We had originally intended to do 29 miles that day and thought that the Bunkhouse was just an inch over the other side of the map, however upon closer inspection it was pretty much a full side and an additional 4 miles. They took the decision to try and keep this from the rest of the group for the purposes of morale, however it was getting dark by this point and we had to break out the torches and keep lying when asked how far it was to go by Oggy and Mikey “only another half hour or so lads”.

T and Routhy had broken off and gone off ahead and the rest of us were under the impression that they had a torch; however after walking for about an hour in the dark through cow fields, we bumped into them when they saw our flashlights. It turns out they had taken a 3 mile detour as they’d missed a sign and only found us again by total coincidence. Bearing in mind that they had no map, it could have been a really severe situation.

We were now huddled together using 2 very crap Aldi bought torches and one other head torch between 6 of us in the pitch black. We thought we heard a little whimper from Oggy at one point when we finally told the truth that we were still a long way away from the Sandysike bunkhouse in Walton. A couple of incidents in pitch black cow fields ensued whereby we got chased into knee deep bogs and Routhy nearly lost an espadrille! The decision was then taken after the last cow field incident to take the last two miles on road whereby we were greeted by the 5 welcoming streetlights of Walton and then on the bunkhouse arriving at 10:30pm. We still hadn’t eaten and the eccentrically posh owners took us into their austere dining room, complete with 300 year old family portraits for a dry shepherd’s pie and a frozen cheesecake. We made our excuses and went to bed, trying as much as possible not to disturb the two Dutch guys in the bunkhouse who had been asleep for the last 2 hours.  Oggy at this point was certain he wouldn’t be going on the next morning…..

DAY 3: THE BATTLE FOR BOWNESS (26 Miles)

A cacophony of snoring and farting prevented a great night’s sleep and we were all again up before 6 without a great deal of sleep. Chris was unusually quiet as his feet were in pieces and every step was like walking on daggers. Painkillers and Ibuprofen were now in short supply and the mood, even though it was the final day, was low. Surprisingly it was Oggy, whose mood the night before was nothing short of desperate, who was up bouncing around and geeing everyone up.  However the mood was dampened further by the owner of the bunkhouse saying he’d never met a wearier bunch of travellers in all of his time running the bunkhouse. T was in agony, Mikey couldn’t go at any other pace than his stick would allow but we set off determined to get to the end together and in one piece.

We set a steady pace through the fields, with the rain in our faces and came across our first break stop in Crosby and a really lovely site, an honesty tuck shop where we could have a sit down and a drink. The completion of 5 miles in just less than 2 hours lifted spirits and even though the pain was bad and regular painkillers were needed we felt we could do it.

We carried on into Carlisle and had lunch at the Sands leisure centre, a quick fill up of water and pain killers and some brief shut eye for T and Mikey and we carried on regardless. Routhy had finally made the alternations to his boots, thanks to some borrowed kitchen scissors to enable him to dump his espadrilles, which was fortunate as the terrain began to get extremely muddy along the river Eden. We battled on through the up and down river bank and mud and made another rest stop in Beaumont even though we thought we were only 4 hours away the mood was still low as Mikey and T were both really struggling.

The rain was now really driving and we were all soaked to the skin and the gaps between us becoming greater and greater. The final stretch was in sight but we still had to contend with the straight up to Drumburgh which involved travelling along frequently tidal flooded road which stretched on straight into the distance. This for most of the group was a real low point as the end of the road never seemed to get nearer. However after digging in and getting to the end we found another honesty tuck shop and rested up for 15 minutes to dry off and make the final push for Bowens. Remarkably, Mikey didn’t stop as he felt that if he did he wouldn’t get going again, so Gandalf the Grey pushed on alone. Back out into the rain and the final push was on. T at this point was running on nothing other than gritted teeth and mars bars and we hadn’t’ heard a word out of him in hours. However after another rain soaked 4 miles we finally rounded the corner to find Gandalf sat under the Bowness on Solway sign proclaiming to have pissed on his hands to warm them up. We grouped together and walked into the village all with smiles on our faces other than T who was in real trouble. We made the final 200 yds to the end point of the wall and even had to convince T to do this as he was determined to go straight to bed. We’d made it, but surprisingly, although there were hugs all round, we were all so shattered to be too happy.

A quick change and we waddled and limped to the Kings Arms in Bowness to be greated by the best welcome. “just finished the wall lads?” came the question from the military tattooed barman “yeah, 3 days” we replied “fucking hell, put it there guys” and a series of smiles and handshakes ensued when we realised that we had just achieved something that was not only very demanding physically, but also incredibly demanding mentally. T couldn’t even make it to the Pub and had gone straight to bed, but we were further buoyed by reading the countless year books contained at the Kings Arms with stories from fellow walkers. Pints and whisky chasers all round and we rounded the night off in good spirits.

Following a good night’s sleep we were picked up by Danny and Glo O’Grady in the Minibus the following morning that had been generously donated to us by Dean at CV2 Self Drive http://www.cv2selfdrive.co.uk/

 

 

Welcome to the Hadrian’s Wall Challenge Just Giving Page. After reading this, please take the time to watch our video.

Last year a group of friends set out to raise money for a charity by attempting the 3 peak challenge; climbing the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in 24 hours; Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike  and then Snowdon.  The challenge was completed by all who took part in the time restraints set and we managed to raise over £3500.00 for the Stroke Association.

This year a smaller group, due to the nature of the task, will attempt to up the stakes and set out on a gruelling three day hike stretching the length of Hadrian’s Wall.  We will be walking 86 miles from start to finish which averages out at almost 30 miles per day.  We will be carrying everything we need for the four nights away for the duration of the challenge and once we set off there is no going back.

So the team of challengers consists of myself (Andy Baylis), Chris McCormick, Andy Taylor, Ryan O’Grady, Paul Routh and Mikey Costello.  We all had charities which we wanted to raise money for and that were close to our hearts, but we decided to stick these in a hat and pick one charity, which resulted in us raising money for the The Jane Hathaway Leukaemia Fund.

The Jane Hathaway Fund was set up by Tom and Georgina Hathaway after tragically, their daughter Jane, passed away at the age of 10 after losing a two-year battle against leukaemia in 1985. Now, her loving parents are devoted to raising money in her name by helping the LATCH charity that provides care and support to victims of the disease and their relatives. Their motive for raising money for the charity is simple - to help other families going through the agony of seeing their child suffering. Their money has helped fund research, buy new equipment and increase levels of care to give other families more time with their loved ones. So should you decide to support us, your money will be well spent and very well received.

We will be organizing, funding and training for this event off of our own backs and all donations will be given to the charity.

 

 

Please make sure that you say yes to giftaid!

So...... we will set off on Wednesday 31st of August on the train to Newcastle and then begin the challenge early doors on the 1 September. We will begin at Wallsend and walk 30 miles to Chollerford. The second day consists of a 29 mile walk to Walton and the final day is the remaining 27 miles to Bowness on Solway.

 CV2 Commercial Vehicle Hire have kindly donated the use of one of their minibuses to safely transport us all home after the challenge.  A huge thank you to them for their assistance once more.  It is greatly appreciated.

We would really appreciate all donations and will be keeping people up to date via facebook and twitter of our "training" and then also the challenge itself.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.