Do you do long distance walking? Coast to coast etc...

[CuriousMama]

I do. Dh got me into it and I love it. Well, except when I don't. Then I swear I'll never do another one. Feet are screaming. Legs feel like they won't walk another few yards.

But the scenery is amazing. I've only ever done them in England. I'd like to do the West Highland Way one day. I've met lots of lovely interesting people.

Anyone else do LDWs? Which ones have you done and where next?

I did the Great Glen Way about 20years ago the year after I’d done the west highland way. From what I can remember it’s very different from WHW it was lots of forestry track with no views and bit boring trudge. In parts place I felt even back then as a woman walking on her own a bit vulnerable in the forestry sections. Plus the last day was a long 18m I think into Inverness which was exhausting. I do remember being so relieved to reach the outskirts of Inverness. The path may have changed since then but I didn’t enjoy it as much as West H Way.

Booked to walk Coast to Coast. Having trouble knuckling down to training to the distances. Feels a lonely endeavour, where probably this solitude is what attracts people to the task.

Top tips to get sustain training welcome

@Longlazyday don’t think of it as training? Incorporate it into your daily routine by walking to do something you may drive to normally (nipping to shops?) or listen to a podcast / audiobook. I’ve normally done 1-1.5hr walking before I start work by walking the dog & kids stuff. Then if I go out again after work I can hit 2-3hrs walking around a regular day.

Then at weekend find a nice cafe or pub you want to visit and walk to it?

Thank you @SpringMermaid987 These are good suggestions. I think it’s the daily discipline - the ‘just do it’ mindset. I think it does need to involve food. I may have been a Labrador in a previous life.

@reallyneedmoresleep yes, I found the Great Glen Way boring. Nice scenery in the distance but that's it. I prefer pretty much every other walk I've done: Thames path, Cotswolds Way, Hadrian's Wall (though it says a while to get good), Wolds Way, Cleveland Way, Dales Way (last 10 miles to go!). Is love to do St Cuthbert's Way and the Ridgeway in the near future.

Fantastic thread. I'd really like to do a LDW. Dh would find it easy, but I'm worried I would struggle. I have a tendency to plantar fasciitis and my hips can get quite achy after a lot of miles. I need to up my yoga and do more foot-strengthening exercises! We live in Cumbria, so have some great routes nearby, but I think I'd like to do one that's not toooo steep and challenging. Has anyone done the Ridgeway (or part of it)? We used to live right near it, and I think it would be a great one to do.

This is a great thread! I got into hiking after fracturing my tibial plateau and having to give up running. I completed the salkantay trek in Peru earlier this year. It was very very hard! I'm having mountain withdrawal symptoms and wonder if any of you have hiked in the Tatras, either in Poland or Slovakia?

@Longlazyday i too am a Labrador and now own one 🤣my DH I cemented our relationship many moons ago on a long distance walk with me carrying his coffee and he my chocolate so we had to stick together for each others goodies! It’s still the same now.

@AllProperTeaIsTheft i too struggle with sore feet and hips. The only things that help are decent socks, right insert sole in comfy shoes (I wear trail running trainers now as lightweight instead of heavy boots), plus doing more strenght training which I hate - squats, lunges, planks etc so your thighs & core are stronger. Plus I walk a lot slower now and sit to admire most views 😊

Sounds fab I’d love to do more in Europe once kids have flown the nest. Hoping to go back to French Alps next summer and use the ski lift system to walk and leave the teens at the towns pool. That’s assuming it’s not too hot. We went a couple of years ago and kids were too young (moaned a lot!) to walk and they had a heat wave of 35-42c which made it impossible to do much between 10-4pm

Haven't read the full thread but we did the WHW with our dog just after covid. It was brilliant, scenery is stunning and most of it is on the flat. You can do it in as many days as you want which means less/more mileage, which ever suits you. Would definitely recommend!

Did part of Ridgeway years ago when we lived nearer. Bus to Lambourn, walked east and stayed at Ridgeway hostel, walked to Goring, train home. Next trip got bus out as before, walked west and stayed at Fox Lynch lumpy bunkbed riders accommodation, walked to Avebury where DP picked us up, after reviving ourselves in lovely Avebury cafe. It was a hot day.

Anyone done Fife Coastal Path or High Dales Way?