(click on 'walk'
number or title) Walk
#1
: Monmouth
and Brecon Canal (Macmillan
Nurses : November 11th 1996) (Macmillan
Nurses : May 15th 1998) (Children
in Need : November 18th 2003) Donation
: 220+ Beer Festival Glasses (Macmillan
Cancer : June 4th 2006) Return to Main
Links Page
...
FOR
MACMILLAN FUND Monmouth
and Brecon Canal November
11th 1996 (Please scroll
down) Mike and
I set off from bridge #53 at Pontypool at exactly 10:30
hrs, and although I didn't actually prepare myself for
the walk, (my first ever), I found the first 17 miles or
so relatively easy going, but we were obviously aching
and tired when we arrived at our overnight stop ... The
'Horseshoe Inn' ... (Oh ! it's a pub ... how very
fortunate !)
...
in Llangattock at 16:30 hrs. A total of 6 hours minus our
3 x 10 minute stops for our bananas, Mars bars and water
... yes ... although we passed several very inviting
pubs, the only ale we drank was .... 'ADAMS' ! I found
that when I eventually removed my new walking boots from
my old feet, they had changed into something resembling
those of King Kong's ... same size and aroma ! In the
evening we found the energy to walk into Crickhowell for
a meal and vital fluid replacement ... albeit hop
flavoured. At 22:45
hrs, I was safely tucked up in my little bed, but ... on
laying there in the dark, I could hear in the distance, a
sound that could only be described as someone dragging
large flagstones over a cobbled courtyard ! It seems that
Mike in the next room was even more tired than he made
out ... that sound was him ... SNORING ! My alarm
went off at 07:45 hrs and it felt as though someone had
crept into my room through the night and superglued my
legs to the mattress ... I couldn't move ! But with a
little effort ... no, with a LOT of effort ... I managed
to make it to the bathroom and then the breakfast
table. After a
hearty breakfast and a few grunts and groans we set off
again at 09:30 hrs to tackle the second 17 miles or so
and kept up a fair pace, (well, for us that is !), until
we reached bridge #158. This is where I really started to
flag behind ... for in front of us was a large sign
stating ...,TOWPATH
CLOSED ... DETOUR !
The
Brynich Aqueduct was closed to walkers and boating
traffic as it was under repair. Although the detour was
negligible, we had to double back on ourselves and walk
up and down a country lane, now on tarmac instead of a
flat grass towpath ! Nature obviously didn't intend 17
stone to go bounding across the countryside ... my knees
and hips were constantly reminding me of that diet I
never went on and that I was not built for this walking
lark ! Mike
definitely seemed to fair better than me, and the only
mishap he had other than general aches and pains , was a
split toe ... Oh, and being downwind of me after my
evening meal of liver & onions, bacon & baked
bean casserole, ( sorry Mike ! ), he soon took up the
forward position again ! We
arrived at bridge #166 in Brecon at 15:35 hrs, a total of
6 hours and 5 minutes, minus our 3 x 10 minute breaks. A
visit to the 'Old Boar's Head' rounded off the day very
nicely indeed ! Was it
all worth the effort ?
YES !
Because
all you kind people out there, (inside & outside the
Mint), helped us raise the sum of £760.30p for those
lovely people in the Macmillan Cancer Relief
Fund. Our thanks
to you one and all. Many thanks
to Olwen for the lift home. P.P.S.
For sale ...
size 10 walking boots, under 40 miles 'on the clock'
! ( Originally
appeared in the Royal Mint newsletter ... 'Mint Condition'
)
Monday
11th November.
Tuesday
12th November
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( WALK
#2 ) Kennet
and Avon Canal May 15th
1998 'Macmillan
Nurses' A
further walk for the Macmillan Nurses was
done on May 15th 1998, (SOLO I
might add ... where were you guys ??? ),
from Bath Top Lock to Bradford on Avon along
the K. & A. canal, actually stopping at
Widbrook Bridge which is conveniently
situated by 'The Beehive' public house.
J . The
amount raised this time was
£716.00p.
Once
again, many thanks to all those who sponsored
me ! Below I have placed a small selection of
digital images which I took along the walk
... but I don't know how those pubs got in
there ... honest !
J
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( WALK
#3 ) Kennet
and Avon Canal 'Children
in Need' Finishing
up at the brilliant 'Beehive' pub
once again. The
R.A.T.S.
raised
£302.00p
today for 'Children in
Need' Walkers
were Mike Peart - Mal Brook - and
Myself. (Mal
raised a further £100 ... but
this was NOT on behalf of the
R.A.T.S.) *** A total of
£1778.30p - (so far !) - raised for Charity in 3 walks
by the R.A.T.S. !
November
18th 2003
From
Bath Spa to Bradford on Avon -
(Kennet & Avon canal)
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(
Donation ) Beer
Festival Glasses donated 'Macmillan
Cancer' Contact
details are : Jean
West Supporter
Services Department Macmillan
Cancer Support 89 Albert
Embankment London SE1
7UQ Tel: 020
7840 7899 Email:
j.west@macmillan.orgdotuk Visit the
new Macmillan website at
http://www.macmillan.org.uk ***
June
4th 2006
Having
collected some 250+ Beer and Cider Festival
glasses over the years, both pints and
halves, I decided it was time to put the 10
boxes in the attic to some good use ... so I
contacted Mrs Jean West of the Macmillan
Supporters Services Dept. to see if they
could put me in touch with a 'local'
Macmillan shop. This they did, and the 220+
glasses - (I kept approximately 30 back,
mainly European !) - are now on sale in the
Porthcawl area of Glamorgan.
A
total of £1778.30p - (so far !) - raised for
Charity by the R.A.T.S. in 3 walks ... plus
an 'unknown amount' from the sale of the Festival
Glasses !
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