Not long to go now, soon be May which means walk day on the 30th May. We have been given a 7am start on the Saturday and expect to finish late morning on the Sunday. Wrist bands are issued which use Satellite technology which means people can track teams on the internet. If Tear for Beers seem stationary for a while off the circuit, they will have found a pub!
Thanks to Steve who had identified an excellent 12 mile circuit from the CW office in King Street along the Yarmouth Road to Thorpe, through a well found short cut to the fly over bridge and into Whitlingham Country park, then past the ski slope and Carrow road to King Street. This will be the main stay of our remaining training, little and often. We wouldn't of called 12 miles little 4 months ago! The last test will be a 35 mile walk on the 9th May. Quoting the Oxfam people, if you can walk 35 miles you will do 62 miles no problem! I believe you???
*** PLEASE REMEMBER ***
Tickets for the "Tears for Beers" Music festival at Hardley village Hall (near Loddon) now on sale.
Fun filled afternoon/evening of Music (1.30pm to 11.30pm) featuring 5 bands (plus guests!) covering all types of Music from Acoustic to Jazz, and Heavy Rock Blues to Modern Pop.
BBQ and Bar available childrens playground opposite the venue so ideal for familes.
Tickets £10 for adults, under 12's go free. All profits to Oxfam.
For tickets or further information contact:
Tristan - 07771 613058
Steve - 07990 541683
Please come, it will be a great day plus helps Oxfam in the process, everyones a winner!
Saturday, 25 April 2009
The Thursday before Easter saw the team head out to Alysham and a 22 mile walk back to Norwich along the Marriott's Way which follows the old railway line. So carrying on with the railway analogy we hoped to depart at 1700Hrs and arrive back at our terminus at Midnight (King Street, Norwich) using our normal 3 miles + an hour pace. Thanks to Amanda for the lift to Alysham and the pre departure muffin and and to Jocky fully kited out as action man as group protection from werewolf’s. So in typical British Rail style, we departed behind schedule at 5.20pm! Yes the late start was so we had some practice walking in the dark. Yes, the principle is the same, put one foot in front of the other, but the trick this time is not to walk into anything!!! But with head torches and a full moon (hence werewolf's) we felt confident.
So off we strutted, leaving civilisation behind us with good banter, it had been a while since all the walkers had been out together at the same time. Typically for a railway the route was straight with the sides of the old track line bordered by trees as it's made its way through the fields. A short stop at the old Reepham railway station for refreshments found a plaque stating the last passenger train had departed in 1959. For a few seconds the mind wandered trying to imagine the scene.
Around 8.30pm darkness descended, saw Jocky disappear and re-appear unexpectedly and the head torches adorned which made good dalek impressions! Time ticked by the miles passed with Steve shouting out rough distance, so yes we seemed to be making good progress but being on an old railway line and being dark didn't really have any visual references. However seeing what looked like the old Lenwade Concrete works at 22:30 did start to cause alarm bells with Tristan who was suppose to be back at work at 1am. By 11.15 pm the first street light came into view and a close look at the map showed we had another 7 miles to go at least, this wasn’t a 22 mile walk, more like a 28!
So Tristan had to leave the group, quicken the pace and power walk to Drayton and hope to some how get back to Norwich quickly. Being the middle of the night, taxi's been at their busiest and probably no buses it wasn't good. However once hitting Drayton and walking down the main drag, managed to flag down an out of service bus, hitch a lift to the bus depot and walk to Sprowston getting home at 00:45, that was close! Explaining to the very nice bus driver what I was doing walking in the middle of the night before being kicked off as a weirdo was a challenge. When the boots came off, sure I saw steam!
As to the rest of the group, they eventually got back to Norwich at 2am so again in true BR style, late! I will leave then to comment but I heard story's of tantrums and medical drama, yes there is never a dull moment with Tears for Beers!
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Tickets for the Hardleybury Music Festival now available!
Tickets for the "Tears for Beers" Music festival at Hardley village Hall (near Loddon) now on sale.
Fun filled afternoon/evening of Music (1.30pm to 11.30pm) featuring 5 bands (plus guests!) covering all types of Music from Acoustic to Jazz, and Heavy Rock Blues to Modern Pop.
BBQ and Bar available childrens playground opposite the venue so ideal for familes.
Tickets £10 for adults, under 12's go free. All profits to Oxfam.
For tickets or further information contact:
Tristan - 07771 613058
Steve - 07990 541683
Please come, it will be a great day plus helps Oxfam in the process, everyones a winner!
Fun filled afternoon/evening of Music (1.30pm to 11.30pm) featuring 5 bands (plus guests!) covering all types of Music from Acoustic to Jazz, and Heavy Rock Blues to Modern Pop.
BBQ and Bar available childrens playground opposite the venue so ideal for familes.
Tickets £10 for adults, under 12's go free. All profits to Oxfam.
For tickets or further information contact:
Tristan - 07771 613058
Steve - 07990 541683
Please come, it will be a great day plus helps Oxfam in the process, everyones a winner!
Monday, 6 April 2009
The Wherrymans way take 1....
Saturday dawned clear and sunny – Jocky picked us up bright and early before 8.00 am (actually 7.00 am as the clocks had gone forward overnight) but thoughtfully provided us with coffee to wake us up. Just the three of us today – Steve, Jocky and Susan - until after lunch when we were joined by Diane and Andy from the opposition, as well as Gill from the running club that Andy is a member of.
This time we followed the Wherryman’s Way from Reedham Ferry back to Norwich, walking alongside water all day. The paths were surrounded by daffodils, violets and hedges in bud, and it certainly felt like spring is well and truly here. We did miss talking about PINK things though!
http://www.wherrymansway.net/wherrymansmap.pdf
The first seventeen miles were done at a steady pace – with a lunch stop at the Beauchamp Arms at Claxton – there have been plenty of riverside pubs today, although Jocky would only let us stop in one! As payback though, we wouldn’t let him stop long enough for apple crumble and custard – ha!
After lunch, the pace picked up considerably and made for pretty uncomfortable walking – well, for some of us anyway! A valuable lesson learnt, walk at your own teams pace……Diane, Andy and Gill seemed to be on a mission and boy did we suffer for it in the later miles. (Plus we intend to do the whole 35 miles in May, so lesson learnt)
Forgetting the suffering we experienced, the walk itself was just what was needed, we did 28 miles in all our longest walk so far, taking 9hrs 30 mins, so as far as the training is going we are right where we need to be……
This time we followed the Wherryman’s Way from Reedham Ferry back to Norwich, walking alongside water all day. The paths were surrounded by daffodils, violets and hedges in bud, and it certainly felt like spring is well and truly here. We did miss talking about PINK things though!
http://www.wherrymansway.net/wherrymansmap.pdf
The first seventeen miles were done at a steady pace – with a lunch stop at the Beauchamp Arms at Claxton – there have been plenty of riverside pubs today, although Jocky would only let us stop in one! As payback though, we wouldn’t let him stop long enough for apple crumble and custard – ha!
After lunch, the pace picked up considerably and made for pretty uncomfortable walking – well, for some of us anyway! A valuable lesson learnt, walk at your own teams pace……Diane, Andy and Gill seemed to be on a mission and boy did we suffer for it in the later miles. (Plus we intend to do the whole 35 miles in May, so lesson learnt)
Forgetting the suffering we experienced, the walk itself was just what was needed, we did 28 miles in all our longest walk so far, taking 9hrs 30 mins, so as far as the training is going we are right where we need to be……
Monday, 23 March 2009
Flat, flat, flat, Oh! a Windmill !!!!!!
The sun was out and our spirits were high, just a nice walk along side the river counting the Windmills as we go…..Another section of the Weavers Way to complete, in fact some of the group have almost completed it all! Stalham to Halvergate.
You have just got to love your support crew, some will even walk with you, others, well lets just put it this way, we had to go to Tesco’s in Stalham to stock up with sandwiches and snacks for this one……
Country lanes at this time of year are just starting to show signs of life, most trees and bushes are starting to bud and with the warm temperature and clear skies it was a great morning for a spring walk. Once we hit Hickling Broad we meandered along side waterways stopping at Potter Heigham to sit and eat lunch near the medieval bridge crossing the River Thurne.
Following the river, by now we had seen enough windmills to be fair but much to our surprise the repetition was interrupted by Jocky as he diverted to the Lion Inn, Thurne, for an unplanned refreshment stop, see he does have a soft spot for us really!
Continuing on our way along, what to be honest, is some pretty flat terrain only excited by some traffic dodging on the Acle straight, we sauntered into Halvergate, with some little niggling injuries which made the last few hours uncomfortable, but all completed the latest training walk in good spirits, even if the red Lion pub was closed when we arrived.
You have just got to love your support crew, some will even walk with you, others, well lets just put it this way, we had to go to Tesco’s in Stalham to stock up with sandwiches and snacks for this one……
Country lanes at this time of year are just starting to show signs of life, most trees and bushes are starting to bud and with the warm temperature and clear skies it was a great morning for a spring walk. Once we hit Hickling Broad we meandered along side waterways stopping at Potter Heigham to sit and eat lunch near the medieval bridge crossing the River Thurne.
Following the river, by now we had seen enough windmills to be fair but much to our surprise the repetition was interrupted by Jocky as he diverted to the Lion Inn, Thurne, for an unplanned refreshment stop, see he does have a soft spot for us really!
Continuing on our way along, what to be honest, is some pretty flat terrain only excited by some traffic dodging on the Acle straight, we sauntered into Halvergate, with some little niggling injuries which made the last few hours uncomfortable, but all completed the latest training walk in good spirits, even if the red Lion pub was closed when we arrived.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Water water everywhere...
Today, the weather has been kinder to us – we haven’t had yesterday’s persistent rain to contend with or the wind; we’ve only had hailstones and snow today!
We had always planned a shorter day’s walking as we were driving back to Norfolk this afternoon. After a huge breakfast prepared by our lovely support crew (!!), you have just got to LOVE your support crew, we left the cottage and started our walk – through a bleak but beautiful industrial landscape – the old Yarnbury lead mines above Grassington. We’ve walked by water all day – crossing streams, using stepping stones, suspension bridges, past the odd lake, fish farms, etc.
We had all cheered up too from yesterday – a lot of yesterday’s walk was done in silence except for the odd happy dance and sudden burst of singing to try and raise our spirits. Today was a totally different walk – lots of laughing, singing, talking nonsense, etc. Much nicer …..even if a little soft underfoot alongside the River Wharfe
The day was finished off by calling into the Woolly Sheep Public House in Skipton, where we will actually be staying on the weekend of the big walk – it was only right to call in and check out its potential as somewhere good enough for the Tears for Beers walking team. Oh and to try out the beer of course as well – and I think Rachel has even decided every meal from the menu! To be fair we did not talk too much during the walk about food so we can let her off with some planning.
A great weekend overall – bring on the next one!
We had always planned a shorter day’s walking as we were driving back to Norfolk this afternoon. After a huge breakfast prepared by our lovely support crew (!!), you have just got to LOVE your support crew, we left the cottage and started our walk – through a bleak but beautiful industrial landscape – the old Yarnbury lead mines above Grassington. We’ve walked by water all day – crossing streams, using stepping stones, suspension bridges, past the odd lake, fish farms, etc.
We had all cheered up too from yesterday – a lot of yesterday’s walk was done in silence except for the odd happy dance and sudden burst of singing to try and raise our spirits. Today was a totally different walk – lots of laughing, singing, talking nonsense, etc. Much nicer …..even if a little soft underfoot alongside the River Wharfe
The day was finished off by calling into the Woolly Sheep Public House in Skipton, where we will actually be staying on the weekend of the big walk – it was only right to call in and check out its potential as somewhere good enough for the Tears for Beers walking team. Oh and to try out the beer of course as well – and I think Rachel has even decided every meal from the menu! To be fair we did not talk too much during the walk about food so we can let her off with some planning.
A great weekend overall – bring on the next one!
What a lovely day for walking in the Pennines
So, another weekend in Yorkshire – this time with some members of our support crew in the shape of Jocky and Stella. This weekend away was planned to coincide with the Oxfam prep session in Skipton.
The prep session was pretty interesting and highlighted the fact that even though we are ahead as far as a training schedule was concerned however, it was obvious that we were still focusing on the wrong things so we came away thinking of ….. down jackets, magic map gadgets, and especially loving our support crew, etc, etc. Jocky and Stella wrote copious notes so we hope they’ve captured all the more important information …..Pink Champagne!
After our prep session and the highlight of having our photo taken for the Oxfam publicity machine, Jocky dropped us off at Malham national Park car park, and as we pulled our boots on, with perfect timing, it started to snow. The walking today has been amazing, and the scenery stunning (when we finally got to see it), although we did have to put up with a number of obstacles – giant limestone pavements; huge slippery steps; rampaging sheep; limited visibility; new boots with not much of a grip; clothes that turned out to be not as waterproof as we thought; a twisted ankle and knee strain; a couple of hangovers; etc, etc.
The prep session was pretty interesting and highlighted the fact that even though we are ahead as far as a training schedule was concerned however, it was obvious that we were still focusing on the wrong things so we came away thinking of ….. down jackets, magic map gadgets, and especially loving our support crew, etc, etc. Jocky and Stella wrote copious notes so we hope they’ve captured all the more important information …..Pink Champagne!
After our prep session and the highlight of having our photo taken for the Oxfam publicity machine, Jocky dropped us off at Malham national Park car park, and as we pulled our boots on, with perfect timing, it started to snow. The walking today has been amazing, and the scenery stunning (when we finally got to see it), although we did have to put up with a number of obstacles – giant limestone pavements; huge slippery steps; rampaging sheep; limited visibility; new boots with not much of a grip; clothes that turned out to be not as waterproof as we thought; a twisted ankle and knee strain; a couple of hangovers; etc, etc.
Rachel came out with some cracking quotes – but to save her dignity, we will not repeat them here. Suffice it to say, WE all remember what you said, missus! And Steve has two scorch marks in the back of his neck from that look, and we all know “that look”
And we have NEVER been so pleased to see Jocky as we were at the end of the day, as we came down the hill in darkness to the pub (well Rachel in particular) – one of the speakers this morning told us that we must treat our support crew like the stars that they are – as, during the walk itself, we will become complete divas and abuse them unashamedly. So, with that in mind, we’re sharing the love around in advance of needing them.
We love you Jocky!
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