Training for the Himalayas has commenced

---

Well, we have started training and it could be going better. We've had a couple of walks with our monthly group which have been really great.

Sarah Drake, Sue Winter and myself started at The White Hart at Weston In Gordano one morning when there was still quite a lot of snow around, it was very cold. We left The White Hart and started walking across the moors towards the motorway and as we were walking, the sun started to come out and was melting some of the snow. It was quite hard going over the fields that were rutted and Sue twanged her knee. We saw lots of wildlife though which was great, there seemed to be loads of birds about. We even saw a peacock in someones garden! When we got to Caswell Lane we headed left and passed some farms, one of which is now a thriving stables and arena. There seems to be a lot of horses around our way. We stopped to stroke one horse and Sue let him finish the apple she was eating, which caused havoc with the other horses who were looking on longingly. We were extremely muddy and our feet felt very heavy. We then started heading back across the moors towards Portishead and met the main A370. We should have then continued up the hill and up behind the quarry, but Sues knee was giving her gip and Sarah felt that if she went up the hill, she wouldn't be able to come back down, so we then just walked along the main road back to The White Hart and had a fantastic lunch in the warm. Another enjoyable walk done.



Then the following month, Karen Reeves, Sarah Chouglay and myself did a 5 mile walk from Walton St Mary in Clevedon. We parked up the cars on the road and walked down onto the coastal path which was quite crispy with the frost. We had to walk single file along the path, but it was quite a good path to walk on and we soon got in our stride. Its really pleasant walking along the coast like that and you get to see the area in a totally different light. The sun was shining nicely, although it was still quite chilly. We headed towards Portishead and soon got to the caravan park. It was amazing to see how big that has got now and how lovely some of the caravans are. Ideal spot overlooking the severn like that. We came to a right hand turn with a stile and climbed over only to be faced with an almost vertical climb ahead of us! We took a deep breath and started slowly with little steps. Actually we did pretty well and got the top in good time. We then crossed the coast road and headed for the woods after passing a little farm house with an enormous cow in the front garden. The woods are well looked after and have a path which is easy to follow. It was incredibly muddy with great big puddles in the middle, but we were able to avoid these and walk around them. It wasn't long before we came out onto Walton Common, which is one of the most spectacular places and its completely hidden away. Most of the people of Portishead and Clevedon do not even know this place exists! Which is just as well, so it remains a little jewel. The views out over the valley are just breathtaking and Sarah was able to fill us in on all the local history of the place as we walked down into Walton In Gordano. Sarah used to live there and was able to tell us a lot of the local background. We continued our walk over the other side of the village and up through the woods, which again are lovely. We climbed quite a way until we reached the edge of Clevedon Golf Club. We crossed the green and headed down the lane by the side of the castle into the car park. From there we then had to meet up with the coastal path. To get there we had to walk down an extremely streep hill and if it had been any muddier it would have been lethal. As it was, we had to be very careful where we placed our feet and catch hold of whatever was handy to steady us. When we re-joined the coastal path, we headed back towards Clevedon and back to the cars. We had lunch at Scarlets on the seafront at Clevedon, which was just delicious and ended a perfect day, lots of beautiful scenery, wildlife and great company. I can't upload any photos at the moment, but I will add them when I am able to do so.

---