In just a couple of
weeks time, I was supposed to be starting the quest of completing the
227 mile Severn Way. This is a long distance trail that starts in the
welsh mountains and finishes in Bristol and it follows the entire
length of the River Severn, from source to sea. The plan had been to
hike, mountain bike and kayak the trail. With so many other peoples
plans this year, this has been put on the shelf until next year. It
firmly stays on the bucket list!
Not wanting to feel
complacent, I made the decision to switch this years long distance
trail to my local trail. I live in the beautiful county of Shropshire
and if nothing else, this lockdown has bought home the need to really
appreciate what's on your doorstop. For me, this comes in the form of
the 220+ mile Shropshire Way. Encompassing the variety of countryside
that Shropshire has to offer, it is formed of 15 stages that loop
around the county in a figure of 8, covering moorland, hills,
pastures, lanes and canal tow paths. In additin to these stages there
are additional sections not incorporated within the loop.
As always, one of my
aims is to promote the larger person being out amongst the
countryside, thus proving that size is no barrier. I may be larger
than some, but I always get here in the end and this is inclusive of
carrying the extra weight too. I suspect many of the smaller folk out
on the trails would struggle with if they had the aditional weight
that I do, I think that makes me pretty awesome!
One of things I have
always found a challenge is getting suitable clothing. I do plan on
dedicating a whole blog on the challenge of finding plus size
adventure clothing, but because its a constant for me, it's worthy of
a mention here too. A phrase once said by Billy Connolly, in
reference to the scottish weather, was "there's no such thing as
bad weather, only bad clothing". How true is that comment! I
love being outdoors, even in the rain. In fact, I love the feel of
the rain and it doesnt phase me one bit. The most challenging aspect
of it is finding the right fitting clothing that does the job
effectively - in essence, it would not cause Billy to be rolling his
eyes!! I have found a few companies that do the most amazing
leggings, especially Element Karbon. Their leggings are just lush,
such vibrant colours, super comfy and most importantly, they go up to
my size. I am happy to give a shout out to any company that
accomodates and promotes plus size ladies clothing :-)
My intention to
complete this in a two week window in August. I have two weeks where
my kids will be with their dad in what would of been their school
summer holidays and these are the two weeks I am aiming for. I am
however, not too worried if it carries over by a couple of days, as I
can complete the trek with my kids in tow for the last couple of
days. Anyone who knows us as a family, know that the kids are more
than capable of completing a full days hiking and part of me secretly
wishes for them to be there when I step over the virtual finish line.
To conclude this
blog, I'll let you know what other long distance trails are on my
bucket list...
Herriot Way (52
miles)
Hadrian's Wall (84
miles)
Offa's Dyke (177
miles)
Hebridean Way (185
miles)
Severn Way (227
miles)
Camino de Santiago
(500 miles)
I keep adding to
this list and stubbornly refuse to remove any of the trails!! For
anyone wanting to know why I walk, its relaxing, relatively cheap and
a great way to see and experience the best the countryside has to
offer. x
