It started on a rainy Tuesday morning, I got up early and persuaded my father to give me a lift to the start on the A57. Worrying about where my next meal was coming from, we stopped for a full English breakfast at The Diner, Neepsend.
After a short lecture in the car of largely useless advice I started out, quickly forgetting everything said but still full of breakfast. The time was 9:33 am on 27/08/2024
I knew the paths reasonably well for the first day so everything went pretty smoothly and to plan! It was still raining when I set up for camp and I started to regret my bivvy and tarp setup rather than taking a tent. Luckily this was the last of the rain.
I woke up on a misty and damp morning and quickly packed up and got moving. After a couple of miles I sat down for some instant coffee and a sarnie. While I was sat, I chatted to a fell runner out walking his spaniels about the route. I resupplied in Hayfield and walked a few more hours in a vibrant orange sunset. I set up my tarp under some old trees and fell asleep. However, the night wasn't a peaceful as I would've wished... The trees I slept under were next to a cow field and around 1am a rather rambunctious calf managed to hop the wall into the field where I slept. The calf seemed unphased and if anything quite happy in it's new surrounds, with longer, fresher grass than the field it called home. It's mother and various aunties were however rather upset and cried while taking it in turns to try and push down the dry stone wall separating the two fields. After an hour or so the calf disappeared into yet another field and eventually the cows crying died down. I hope the calf made it home after it's adventure.
I woke up on day 3 and got moving straightaway. After a couple of hours I stopped by the well dressing in Wormhill and chatted with one of the newer locals, he'd only been there 50yrs, about local history and he offered me a coffee but I was rushing to get lunch in Buxton. I had a nice cafe lunch and resupplied in Buxton before cracking on.
Day 4 was a long day. I resupplied in Manifold Store, Waterhouses. I asked the guy on the counter to fill my water bottles which he did before lecturing me about the price of his water rates. A local farmer then butted in calling him various names. I continued, laughing about what happened, walking till late.
Day 5 I woke early and struggled to get myself moving, even the trick of deflating my mat before getting out my sleeping bag wasn't enough motivation. I walked for a few hours before lying flat on the pavement by an A road to eat haribo and drink instant coffee dissolved in cold water. Blissfully unaware of the world around me, an elderly lady approached and questioned why I didn't sit on the bench across the road in a bus stop. I pondered whether I was still a full member of society at this point and decided it was time to get the route finished asap. The rest of the day was tough and I was happy to see my father waiting to pick me up at the end. I was tired enough to fully zone out on his lectures this time. The time was 9pm on 31/08/2024