Saturday 2nd April 2011

6 days to go.
So today we went for a walk in the New Forest and it was warm enough (just!) to wear shorts.

Near Ashley Walk in the New Forest, in shorts

Today I carried my new Osprey pack and 10 kg of assorted weight.
We walked 13 miles in 5 hours, ascended 2,400 feet, and our average moving speed was 3.2 mph.
The speed was a little too fast for me and I hope to walk slightly more slowly in Scotland in order to stay the distance. Probably, a combination of bad weather, adverse terrain and navigational glitches will slow me down considerably, perhaps more than I would like

Altogether we were out for 5 hours and had a half hour break to eat a cheese roll and some dried fruit and nuts. During the break we both took off out boots and socks, which allowed the fresh air to circulate around our toes and feet. It felt like a proper rest and I found my feet were really refreshed afterwards.

We were lucky enough to get really close to a herd of about 40 Roe Deer.

Roe Deer in the New Forest

They seemed to be less anxious than usual, but my photos came out quite blurred for some reason.

We went to "the Cuckoo" inn for liquid refreshments on the way home, and tonight I am going to rest up and wash some clothes before I pack everything tomorrow, ready for next Friday.