I will try to fix you

Arrived in Warrington yesterday concluding a 143 mile (230km) walk through the lake District, Cumbria and Lancashire. One small confession, I cut the last 19 miles (30km) from my journey by taking a train, perhaps I couldn’t hack the weather anymore, perhaps I’m getting tired of walking, I will tell you it’s mainly because of my left shoulder. Carrying such a large weight on your back (65 – 70lb / 29-31kg) for such a long time takes a toll, my shoulder which has been giving me trouble since Glasgow was getting progressively worse and frankly I couldn’t take the pain anymore.

I was given some advice at Warrington hospital, mainly – rest and anti-inflammatories. I’ve ordered a shoulder brace to keep me going until I finish the walk.

In addition to correcting my shoulder, I’ve replaced my hiking boots with size 12.5 (48) Scarpa Men’s Terra ll GORE-TEX®, the extra room should help with reducing the blisters which occur once my feet have swollen up after a few days of walking.

Third, I’ve replaced my airbed, the original punctured six days ago, I couldn’t locate the puncture to fix it so it meant re-inflating it whenever I woke from sleeping, approximately every 2-3 hours. The new Thermarest NeoAir XTherm Ultralight is heavier but more comfortable, considerably better at insulating me from the cold ground and hopefully more tolerant of my weight 😁

A few days rest and then I’m on the road again, next stop Stafford to drop in on some friends 😁👍