This weekend i was in Crowden in the Peak District for a training weekend organised by Classic Tours. I travelled there with Madeleine (who is also taking part in the challenge and with whom i have done the majority of my fundraising events..please have a read of her blog as she set it up aaaages ago and has actually got lots of good stuff on there already! Her site is http://madeleinechadwick.blogspot.com/ ) Anyway...we arrived not really knowing what to expect but looking forward to meeting some of the other people chosen for the trek. We met Anand Sharma, Chris Briggs, Seema Sardana and Mark Astill (Hi guys if you're reading!). All very nice people i should add! As it turned out we also met one of our guides, Julian, who led us on the walks this weekend. He seemed very nice and seemed to know what he was doing which reassured me! Then there was the lovely Emma from Save The Children, she will also be coming with us on the trek and having lived in India for a year, has lots of good advice and stories to tell!
So...we spent the day walking over the peaks on Saturday, which was the telling day for me as i was wearing my new walking boots for the first time! I'm extremely happy to say that they were wonderful and a spiffing purchase (even if i do say so myself!), so light and comfortable! It rained for most of the day too so that was a good opportunity to test out my new "trekking gear" which also passed with flying colours (My trousers...what a fantastic buy...poor Madeleine was very patient with me as i expressed my joy with their magic ability to repel water every 5 minutes or so!) The day was a good chance to get to know the guys mentioned above, this was really good and filled me with confidence that the trek will be a thoroughly enjoyable experience! In the evening Julian very kindly went on a tesco run for booze...really, what sort of youth hostel doesn't have a bar! I could hardly believe that he suggested the idea considering we were there for a weekend of exercise! What a great way to spend the evening after a day in the rain..i very much enjoyed the banter, although I perhaps shouldn't have had enjoyed the wine so much...but hey, at the time it was great!
Unfortunately Sunday was cut a little short as the hills were foggy up top and the guides thought it best to stay low and go for a shorter walk. I was amazed by the scenery (again, sorry Madeleine for going on about it!) I will certainly be venturing back out there! So, after a lunch back at the hostel we all said our "goodbye"s and "good luck"s and went our seperate ways. Needless to say, I had a fantastic time and found the experience very enlightening. The morale of the group was inspiring, such lovely people all keen to get out there and make a difference. There were a fair few trips and stumbles along the way but cheery faces were always to be seen in all directions! Well done troop!
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