I had a very enjoyable days walking on 3rd Feb. I drove down to Sandwich and took the train to Ramsgate where I resumed my walk along the Thanet Coast Path. Having reachd the end of that walk at Pegwell Bay I then made my way on foot over to Sandwich and walked the last four and half miles of the Stour Valey Walk which I have now also completed. The total distance I walked was 16.4 miles and details of the walks will be posted to my website in the next week or so.

On 19th Jan 2008 I took the day off watching Maidstone United and took the short trip down the road to watch my local football league club, Leyton Orient.
Last time I had been there was in the away end when they played against Maidstone in the league cup back in 1990, the Stone losing 4-1 after having drawn the first leg 2-2 at home. Since then the ground has been considerably re-developed with new stands on three sides of the ground.
This time Leyton Orient were playing Luton Town in a League 1 match in Mick Harfords first game back in charge for the club.
The match was a fairly scrappy affair, Orient taking the lead just before half time after a goal keeping error. Orient added a second in the 55th minute before Luton pulled one back on 67 mins. Orient had their chances to add a number more but where let down by poor finishing while Luton played some decent football in midfield but did little with it. Attendance was given as 5516.

Once again may I wish everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.

Last year I set myself the target of walking 480 miles during the year. As it was I comfortably exceeded this figure. Despite seeming to continually get caught out in the rain the final total I walked was 584 miles. For 2008 my target is to reach 600 miles. Hopefully this should be reasonably easy to achieve.

At present I am in the process of walking the Stour Valley Walk and the Thanet Coast Path. When the days get a bit longer I am going to start walking the North Downs Way from Farnham and also planning to walk the Wealdway from Gravesend to Eastbourne, starting in March, with a group of people I have met on the internet. After that I have no firm plans.

Enjoy your walking in 2008.

After last weeks thrilling match against Margate normal service was rapidly resumed for the Stones faithful.
Maidstone were playing Canvey Island at home in the 3rd qualifying round of the FA Trophy yet despite being away from home, being from a league below Maidstone and playing with 10 men for last 40 minutes of the game Canvey managed to run out 1-0 winners in a match when Maidstone managed hardly a shot on goal.
A very disappointing outcome.

Last week end, 17-18 November, Walk London were running a programme of walks they had called their Autumn Ambles.
These were a series of free guided walks along parts of the six footpaths that form the London Strategic Walking Network.

Saturdays trip to Margate prevented me taking part on the first day but Sunday found me heading down to Upminster Bridge tube station for the walk along the London Loop down to Purfleet.

The walks were designed “to introduce the Strategic Walk Network to a wider public, encouraging more people to explore the network further” however sadly I was the only person to turn up for this particular walk although the walk the leader had led the day before had had 18 participants. I think the main problem was probably a lack of awareness of the event, I only knew about it due to an email I received from Walk London, and also the rather cold, grey windy weather which was more Wintery than Autumnal.

It was however a very enjoyable days walk with the two guides as we made our way down to the Thames and Purfleet. Details of which can be found here: Walk to Purfleet.
The next scheduled walks were shown as being on the weekend of 19-20th January 2008 and would definitely recommend giving one a go.

Saturdays football match meant an all too brief visit down to Margate on the Kent Coast. It was a cold, grey, windy day which did not really show the town in its best light and there was only time for a brief walk along the seafront, a little wander round the old town and some seaside fish an chips before it was time to head up to Hartsdown Road, home of Margate Football club.

Close to where I parked besides the seafront were a couple of small metal statues of Beatrix Potter figures, part of an exhibition entitled Rag and Bone by the sculptor Laura Ford. Apparently there are three pieces but I only spotted two, Badger, who is searching through a dustbin for food and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle the hedgehog pushing a laden pram overflowing with all her belongings. These will displayed in London at the Economist Plaza between 7th Dec 2007 and 1st February 2008 so I might pop down to see the piece I missed.

On the way to the ground we also paused briefly at the enticingly named Pet Bling pet shop, a shop whose name aptly describes the products it sells with a wide range of jewelled and decorated pet accessories. They didn't have the cat flap we required, none are produced that meets the shops ethos, however we brought a shiny collar for Stanley’s Christmas present.

ON to the match, they had sold out of programmes even though we arrived with half an hour to spare and things went from bad to worse when Maidstone conceded a goal just 34 seconds from kick off. Maidstone equalised on 10 minutes with an exquisite lob from Luis Cumbers only for Margate to regain the lead 5 minutes before half time. Maidstone had won their last away league match 2-1 but when Margate increased their lead on 50 minutes to make it 3-1 down it seemed like another typical away performance from Maidstone, whose first six away league games this season, had seen 23 goals conceded and just 1 scored, was on the cards. Two minutes later Margate had another goal ruled out for offside but then managed to score a soft own goal to put the Stones back in the match. Maidstone were however playing much better than earlier in the season and on 73 minutes Cumbers scored a second after a bit of a goal mouth scramble and Maidstone were level, doubling the number of away goals scored for the season. Even better was still to come though as deep into injury time Andy Martin scored a fourth to earn an unlikely victory and cap one of the best comebacks for several seasons, much to the delight of the several hundred travelling fans. Final score Margate 3 Maidstone 4.

Today I finally finished my walk along the Saxon Shore Way, completing the section from Rye to Hastings. I parked at Hastings Station and took the train to Rye for the walk back which totalled 13.5 miles.
It was a reasonably warm day with a fair amount of sunshine and I had a little break on the beach at Fairlight Glen mid walk.
One last follow up from the last post. I brought a pair of scarpa ZX 65 boots which I have been wearing all year and they have caused no problems at all with my feet!

When thinking back over my walks last year the one thing that immediately springs to mind is the problems I have had with my feet.

At the start of the year despite wearing the same socks and boots that I always do I got a number of blisters, something I had not had for ages. After a bit of experimentation and a new pair of 1000 Mile ultimate walking socks which have done proud all year this problem was soon solved.

More problematic though has been the problem I have been experiencing with my feet getting exceedingly tired and feeling bruised during a walk. Despite cutting down my walking over the last few months this problem doesn't seem to be getting any better. In fact my walk down the New River Path on the 30th December (photo's to follow soonish) was the worst they had been and meant I had to cut short my walk as it was too painful to continue. Eight day later my right foot was still feeling painful from the walk.

Despite general pain the problem seems to be centered on the arches of the feet and my right foot in particular. The problem only tends to happen when I wear my Zamberlain boots so I guess they are some how to blame but I can't see why. In October I brought some new insoles as the ones in the boots were very thin but the new ones have not made any difference.

The boots feel comfortable on my feet, and I had three consecutive days walking in the peak district with them earlier in the year with no problems as well as three quite tough days in the Lake District in 2005 yet the more I wore them in 2006 the more painful they became, the reverse of getting worn in, although wear wise the boots are still quiet new and I would classify them as still being worn in. The sole is quite inflexible and I wonder if this is a contributing factor to the problem although I don't why.

For better weather I have a pair of Merrell walking shoes I use but these are not suitable for winter months (and need replacing anyway, the sole has just worn through which is another story as they have not lasted very well at all).

So at present I have a bit of a problem! I am currently thinking of replacing my Merrel shoes with a more stout pair of fabric boots to use alongside the Zamberlain boots in the hope they are more comfortable / less rigid to wear for lowland walking but decent enough to cope with hilly muddy winter conditions without making my feet hurt.

Well the New Year is here so here's a happy New Year to everyone who looks at the site, the number of visitors and comments I have been getting is steadily increasing and its nice to know from the feedback that I get that the pages are appreciated.

Last year I set myself the target of walking 360 miles in the year, or an average of 30 miles a month. Having looked back over my records I comfortably exceeded this amount, walking a total of 460 miles in the year. This year I'm being conservative and setting a goal of 480 miles.

Just after Christmas I finally finished off my walk round the Capital Ring and the pages for the final stage have been added to the website, Capital Ring Index. I have also walked the first few miles of the New River path between Hertford and Cheshunt and am gradually starting to get that typed up and the photo's sorted out.

My next main walk I want to do is the Hertfordshire Way which runs in a 170+ mile loop around the county. Hopefully I will be starting there soon although I am still having trouble with my feet. I also have the final stage of the Saxon Shore Way to finish between Rye and Hastings but I am saving that for a warm summer day. It's an area I know well and it would be nice to finish the walk with a swim on the sea!

Enjoy your walking in 2007.

Well its not New Year but I have made a resoloution to try and update this blog a little more often, otherwise there is no point to it being here.
So today we have the subject of my walking boots.

Although mine fit well and don't rub I find that if I wear them for any length of time, particularly on firm ground, the soles of my feet start aching quite badly. It is not on any particular pressure point, heels or the arches, but my entire foot that feels sore. After about 12 miles the whole of the underside of my feet can feel bruised and this can take a considerable number of days to recover from.

To try and overcome this I have brought some Sorbothane double strike insoles to replace the ones that came with my boots in the hope that the extra padding will help cushion my feet.
Trouble is that when I first wore them my right foot started aching after a couple of hundred yards. I put this down to the insole not being properly located. Since them I have walked about a mile relatively comfortably however I noticed my right knee, which I often have had problems with felt slightly sore. This is probably due to the new insole putting my foot in a slightly different angle to what it is used too and thus putting pressure on the knee. I am hoping this wil sort itself out as the insole get more bedded ina fter a bit of use.

Tomorrow I am going out for a longer walk, 12-13 miles or so, and it will be interesting to see how the new insoles perfom. Sore feet, sore knee, or comfort?
I am taking the old insoles with me just in case I run into any serius problems!