…and a bit out of order: Penzance to Bridgewater
Mount’s Bay & Penzance
St Michael’s Mount
Er…Redruth
Dozmary Pool sunset
Dozmary Pool sunrise
Plunger A10 outfit
River Tamar
Cadbury Cross
Brent Knoll, Bridgewater
My adventures with walking, backpacking, running (hobbling?), cycling, amateur radio, traditional folk music and song...and loads of other stuff.
Mount’s Bay & Penzance
St Michael’s Mount
Er…Redruth
Dozmary Pool sunset
Dozmary Pool sunrise
Plunger A10 outfit
River Tamar
Cadbury Cross
Brent Knoll, Bridgewater
A load of years ago I met the Pieman at Shiel Bridge, my start point for that particular Challenge. Mike was starting from Glenelg, a good few miles to the west. That year it was a bad few miles: the weather had been awful and Mike, the brave chap, had decided to walk to his start point. Thank heavens for Paramo.
This year it was my turn to do the Glenelg start. Everybody I’d spoken to reckoned it was a brill place to start from, I wasn’t disappointed.
On the Thursday night I shared a B&B with High Altitude Brookes and Paul. Mrs Cameron, our host(ess) collected us from Shiel Bridge bus stop and drove us to her rather nice house, a short walk from the Glenelg Inn, a rather excellent boozah.
Tiredness and the need to be up for an early(ish) breakfast meant that Graham and I escaped from the pub at around 10.30pm and legged it back to our B&B….not before we’d made fools of ourselves attempting the pub quiz.
Looking west from the Glenelg Inn, 10.30pm
A good night’s sleep followed by a decent breakfast set me up for the day. I was in no rush (nowt new there then) and spent an hour wandering around Glenelg, taking photographs, chatting to some of the locals, wetting my boots in the briny – and picking up a lightweight pebble to haul over to the east coast of Scotchlandshire.
Then there was the all important signing out….
…..followed by the great wetting of the feet.
First stop was for refreshments at The Wagon @ Corrary, well worth a visit: decent coffee and a smiley lady serving goodies. Of considerable interest were the remains of a number of ancient brochs, drystone structures with hollowed walls.
Broch at Corrary
The heat from the sun was hot, probably something to do with the temperature. To stay cool I scared the local wildlife by rolling up my trousers to above my knees. Women and small children screamed at the sight of my pale knobbly knees. Such knees shouldn’t really be allowed out in the daylight, perhaps I should start wearing tights…..or maybe a fake tan is the answer.
Shiel Bridge was my intended overnight stop, not too far at all. The glorious weather (almost) had me wishing it was further. Whatever, it was a lovely walk that offered some good views.
Loch Duich
For Alan
Most of the Challengers had left by the time I arrived in SB – although I was very pleasantly surprised to find a couple of non-challenging Challengers lurking:
With Jeanette & Biaggio at The Kintail Lodge
Much refreshment was taken that night, this walking (and talking) lark can seriously dehydrate a chap. And hydration is just so important. Innit.
A good night’s kip followed….well it would, wouldn’t it?
At 8.30am I promptly left the bunkhouse around 9am. The weather was still glorious: hot, well quite warm, sunshine and a gentle breeze. Norralot not to like really.
Walking East is always A Good Thing on the Challenge, so that’s what I did. It was easy walking on a Land Rover track through Kintail Forest. Still no Challengers, Shiel Bridge starters were mostly a day ahead of me.
Glenlicht House…and the sun’s still shining
A helicopter flew over at one point, I was later to find out that it was going to extract a Challenger (from Alltbeithe I think) who’d fallen and suffered a dislocated something or other. Such bad luck.
Along Fionngleann and Alltbeithe SYHA comes into view…just
It was tempting to stay around Alltbeithe, I knew that some Challengers were staying there so I certainly wouldn’t be alone. The warden / manager or whatever they are these days was something of a star. She provided excellent refreshments and hospitality to passing Challengers….I only found out a day or so later! Ho hum.
Strawberry Cottage / Athnamulloch is four miles after Alltbeithe, along Glen Affric. It was around 6.30pm when I eventually put my tent up. I was sharing the nice flat(ish) area with 5 other Challengers – company at last! A little later another group arrived but they camped a good distance away from us – they probably weren’t Challengers.
The sky was quite clear and the temperature was dropping. I was looking forward to a cosy night in my new sleeping bag, a North Face Hightail 3S, but I was disappointed. I was quite chilly, the down in this brand new bag was clumping badly, creating a good number of (very) cold spots with hardly any insulation. Not impressed – especially for £230.
Image borrowed from the Vierdaagse website.
The International Four Day Marches Nijmegen (or Vierdaagse) is the largest marching event in the world. It is organised every year in Nijmegen, Netherlands in mid-July as a means of promoting sport and exercise. Participants walk 30, 40 or 50 km daily depending on their age and gender, and, on completion, receive a royally approved medal (Vierdaagsekruis). The participants are mostly civilians, but there are also a few thousand military participants.
That’s what Wiki says.
What Wiki doesn’t say is how much fun it is walking 160km over four consecutive days in the company of 45,999 other walkers. Basically it’s a 160km party!
I arrived in Nijmegen on Sunday, giving me plenty of time to register at the start point and to have a wander around the town. My last Vierdaagse was in 2007 and the event is still as popular as ever – the whole town was buzzing. Vierdaagse is party time and the good folk of Nijmegen certainly know how to party!
Each day is named after the largest town that the route passes through, today that town is Elst which is north of Nijmegen.
My allocated start time was 6am (the one in the morning) which meant leaving my accommodation on St Annastraat at around 5.30am, giving me plenty of time to get to the start point – and hopefully not be at the back of the queue.
I’m not sure if it was my alarm clock or the rain hammering against the window that woke me. Whatever it was, I rolled out of bed in a gloomy mood. The idea of walking 40km / 25 miles in heavy rain wasn’t very appealing. By the time I’d breakfasted and had my 2nd cup of coffee things were improving, at 5.50am the rain had stopped completely – and that was the last wet that I experienced for the rest of the walking week :-)
At 6am there was a loud cheer from the crowd as the walkers were scanned and sent on their way. Even at that time of the morning there were huge crowds of spectators, most of them seem to have been partying all night – as the week wore on some of their faces became quite familiar.
Towards the bridge over the River Waal, of Operation Market Garden fame
7.20am (6.20am BST), long morning shadows and the first band of the day
Route choice
The Marches started in 1909 when most of the participants were military, today the military still have a high profile but their numbers have dwindled to around 5,000 – they come from all over the world.
It was good to meet up with some good mates from the Royal Marines, to say their company is entertaining is an understatement – their quick wit always has me in stitches. I first met this lot through motorcycling and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. Although this was a walk, this bunch of lunatics decided that running a couple of miles of the route might be a bit of a wheeze. I ran with them but that meant nothing – they were shod in full kit, including heavy boots AND they were carrying 10kg+ packs, I was carrying 3kg and was shod in running shoes. Quite barmy, the lot of them.
One of the many excellent military bands
On the dike, which in 2006, two participants died in the extreme heat
A Hercules of the Dutch Air Force flying over the route
Re-entering Nijmegen – and the end of Day 1
….followed by a couple of beers
A 5am start may sound like something out of a nightmare but it certainly wasn’t. The weather forecast for the rest of the week was hot and the idea of walking through the hottest part of each day didn’t appeal. So 5am it was, and by swapping my start times with other walkers I managed 5am starts for the rest of the week.
4.30am: The queue at the start
Military participants joining the main 40km route
One for Alan
24.8km to go
Checkpoint
The LDWA Irregulars contingent
I hooked up with The Irregulars – although I promised myself that I wouldn’t go drinking with them, I wanted to survive the week! The Irregulars had somehow arranged access to the military checkpoints for refreshments – very civilised!
The Irregulars at rest….not a common sight
Look who I found, East Lancs LDWA get everywhere!
Residents really make the effort here
Fiddles, Uillean Pipes, English Concertina, Guitar – a Dutch / Irish Ceilidh Band!
Back to Nijmegen
…and another 5am start:
I’d arranged to meet up with The Irregulars at 5am, but as an organised group they were rushed through the start and were away by 5am. I was an ‘also ran’ and had to queue, it was 5.20am by the time I got moving. I didn’t see them all that day.
She’s got almost as many melodeons as me!
The Cheshire Constabulary abroad
Granddaughter on C-F Melodeon, Grandma on Cajon
Lithuanian Customs Contingent in green T-shirts
And at the end of the day, two beers – because one is never enough.
Actual distance: 39.7km
My (successful) attempt to get through the start gate as early as possible in order to catch up with the Irregulars meant I had to be up and about at 3.30am :-(
Even at such an early hour there were already loads of walkers ready to go
The event is very much a 100 mile party, but the last day really is something – everyone is out for a good time, spectators and walkers alike:
How anyone can look so happy at such a ridiculous hour is beyond me!
The British Dutch Walking Fellowship (BDWF) and The Irregulars are somehow related and they tend to get involved in joint ventures such as Vierdaagse. This tie-up allows them various advantages, including access to the military checkpoints which offer food, drink, medical facilities. And toilets. There seem to be a number of groups affiliated to the BDWF. Members of the groups need to stick together on the walk to enjoy the advantages. Losing group members can be a headache for the group leaders, but not for this group:
BDWF Pipe Major gathering his followers
The Irregulars on the move again
Of all the towns and villages on the route, Linden is the most spectacular when it comes to doing spectacular….almost outdoing Nijmegen itself:
And that was only just over half-way through the day’s march, there was more to come.
Jean leading the Irregulars
Choral entertainment on the route
The route had already crossed the River Maas once, now it was time to re-cross it. There was a slight technical problem: the absence of a bridge. The Dutch military came to the rescue, as they do each year, by constructing a temporary crossing. I wasn’t able to get a decent shot of the bridge so took the one below from the Vierdaagse website:
And just after the bridge – a tea stop! Damned civilised.
On the final few kilometers St Annastraat is temporarily re-named ‘Via Gladiola’ – gladdies are handed out to all the walkers as they walk towards the finish.
Above photograph from De Gelderlander
See if you can spot the beer truck!
This photograph from http://www.nufoto.nl/tag/via%20gladiola/
Actual distance: 42.4km
More details maps can be viewed here.
If you’re not totally sick to death of looking at my photographs you can see more here.
101 miles in 4 days isn’t excessive – although 101 miles on tarmac takes it’s toll. I wore a fairly new pair of New Balance 854 running shoes with new Sorbothane Double-Strike Shockstoppers to quite literally cushion the blow. Other than being a bit knackered at the end of each day I didn’t suffer any adverse effects.
Some may sneer at a walk that’s mainly on tarmac and that the route is generally flat – but they’re generally the folk who haven’t taken part in Vierdaagse. It’s a huge amount of fun, ask anyone who’s taken part. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!
Next year is the 100th and I’m going to apply again. Numbers are limited to 46,000 and I suspect that the event will be over-subscribed, I’m just going to have to cross my fingers!
Me and the Mrs JJ (who didn’t take part in the event) flew from Manchester to Schiphol with KLM @ £76.00 each. We each took hand luggage (included in the ticket price) and one large case which cost around £14 extra.
Accommodation for Vierdaagse is available at reasonable cost but I wanted my own place. We rented a lovely house about a mile from the Nijmegen start / finish point at around £350 for the week. I rather hope that house is available next year.
A hire car + insurance cost £145. It’s quite practical to travel by train but a) Mrs JJ isn’t overly mobile so a car was almost essential, b) The cost of two train tickets, Schiphol > Nijmegen return, was the same as the car hire. The added convenience of having a car for the week made it a no-brainer – so a car it was.
The event itself costs around £60 to enter.
Training: not a lot. I put in half a dozen brisk 20 mile walks and some 10-14 mile run / walks in the 6-7 weeks before the event but that was about it. Interestingly I weighed myself before going to Holland and found that I weighed an unhealthy 13st. I wasn’t overly concerned, walking 101 miles in fairly quick time should shed a few pounds. Imagine my dismay when I returned home, I weighed 13st 3lbs! 6-8 weeks after the event I was down to 12st 6lbs. You tell me!
Walking pace: Quite variable. I averaged around 2.95mph, finishing each day in around 8hrs 30mins – including rest stops.
Food & drink: Butties, water and 500ml of SIS drink each day. There’s loads of food available en-route – that’s probably why I gained 3lbs in the week!
Clothing: obviously depends on the weather. I wore shorts & a wicking T shirt each day. A sun hat was needed this year, the weather was glorious. I wore running shoes with new sorbothane Shockstoppers on my feet. A carried a windproof and a very light waterproof, just in case.
That’s about it. I had a cracking week, met up with lots of old friends, enjoyed Dutch hospitality and I didn’t drink too much beer at all. Although Mrs JJ came along she wasn’t able to get out much although she sat out at the front of ‘our’ house on the last day and really enjoyed the spectacle of 46,000 lunatic walkers, all wearing manic grins, marching to the finish line.
That’s it until 2016 then.
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