how you feel on Monday morning. If it is a bank holiday Monday, use the opportunity to take a third day’s walk and confirm beyond doubt whether or not you are fit.
Next, you need to determine how well you cope while carrying more than your usual day-sack. If you intend camping along the length of a national trail, you will be carrying a heavy burden all day and every day, and you need to be sure that you are able to do it. Again, try it for two or three days, pitching the tent and making sure that all items of kit are useful and serviceable. If you feel comfortable with the day-in-day-out routine of walking, then you are probably in good shape to embark on any of the national trails.
Once on the trail, look after your health, whether that means eating and drinking wisely, or avoiding stress, strain and injury by trying to do too much. The commonest cause of misery on any long-distance walk is simply blisters, and as blisters are avoidable, it makes sense to deal with any rubbing or ‘hot spots’ as soon as they are noticed, rather than leaving them till too late. A sensible daily breakdown of the trail should ensure that you don’t over-tax yourself, so that you can start relatively fresh each day, rather than suffering aches, pains and fatigue.
You should find that your fitness increases over the duration of a trek, provided you don’t cause injury to yourself and compound each injury by continuing when you should be resting. Time for rest and recuperation is just as important as time spent covering the distance. Guard against dehydration by drinking sufficient water or soft drinks, and eat well to maintain health and energy levels. General hygiene is important, too, since sweaty bodies and clothes not only smell unpleasant, but could lead to distressing conditions such as chaffing or prickly heat – get into a routine to deal with washing and drying clothes. Also, take care to maintain equipment on the trail, especially if camping, as failure or loss of equipment could mean a swift end to the walk. For your own health and peace of mind, be sure that your equipment is tried and trusted before wearing or carrying it.
Packing
It either doesn’t fit in, or you can’t lift it – these are both sure signs that you’re packing too much. A pack that is too heavy on a long-distance walk is bound to cause misery, which isn’t what you want when you’re supposed to be having fun and revelling in the joys of the great outdoors. If you are overburdened, and only tackle the problem too late by posting the excess weight home, you will probably already be carrying injuries that need never have happened. A long-distance trek may be something that happens only once or twice a year, or it may even be the fulfilment of a lifetime dream, so don’t spoil it unnecessarily.
Almost everyone who embarks on a long-distance walk for the first time makes the mistake of getting a big backpack. Kit expands to fill the available space and you’ll pack far more than you really need. Tents and sleeping bags now tip the scales at less than a kilo each and squash down very small. Modern wicking and waterproof fabrics mean that bulky clothing is a thing of the past. No one really needs more than one change of lightweight clothing for the evening. A good choice of kit will sacrifice little in comfort, but much in weight and bulk.
Food also is the downfall of many – it is heavy and takes up space. Water is a kilo a litre. The lightweight backpacker is easily seduced into packing lots of lightweight meals, then walks past delightful little shops selling wholesome food almost every day on the trail. The obvious thing is to buy food when you need it, and pack only enough to get you to the next shop. On most national trails food can be bought on a daily basis, so there is no need to carry excess weight, and buying food along the way offers the chance to indulge in regional specialities, which is surely one of the great joys of travel.
A big, heavy, bulky pack is not only a tiresome burden, but an awkward one too. At some point a big pack will stick in narrow stiles, hit low branches, lodge in doorways, catch you off-balance in a gale, and probably clobber your travelling companion if you have one. Sometimes it may be funny, more often it will be annoying, and if you’re unlucky it could cause serious injury. Heavy packs also cause the wearer to lean forward, which stresses joints and restricts vision to the sight of feet shuffling monotonously onwards. A smaller, lighter pack leaves the wearer free to stand upright, walk tall and enjoy the splendour of the countryside.
A view of Loch Trool, close to the site of Robert the Bruce’s famous ambush site (Day 3, Southern Upland Way)
Before choosing to buy, read gear reviews in outdoor magazines, quiz retailers mercilessly, and continually ask yourself whether you really need everything on your list, or whether you can live without some of it. If you plan to trek with someone, a burden shared is a burden halved – a shared two-person tent is lighter than two one-person tents. Obviously you’ll still need two sleeping bags, but you won’t need two stoves, and coordinated packing means that both of you can carry considerably less than if you were travelling alone.
Baggage-carrying services operate on popular trails, while some companies offering self-guided walking tours arrange for accommodation providers to move baggage to the next night’s lodging. All of a sudden there is no need to think light – rather, it becomes very tempting to over-pack and include plenty of extra clothing, footwear and special treats. Having someone else move your pack will be expensive, but many walkers are happy to pay the price in order to be able to travel light.
Best Time of Year
Because many people take a summer holiday, it follows that many walkers who want to follow a national trail will do so in the summer. The weather is usually better and the daylight hours are longer, but bear in mind that some places will be very busy, and if using indoor accommodation it is wise to book well in advance to secure beds.
Most of the national trails could be walked at any time of year, although walkers have been asked not to follow the Hadrian’s Wall Path in the winter months, as the wet and muddy ground is easily eroded and this can lead to underlying archaeology being damaged. Those who wish to tackle one of the more remote high-level trails in winter should be aware that weather conditions can be severe – the highest stretch of the Pennine Way, for instance, holds the English records for the highest wind-speeds and most prolonged sub-zero temperatures!
In very general terms, trails in the gentle southeast of England will be easier to walk early in the year than trails further north, or at a higher level. The South West Coast Path can be a problem if attempted too early or too late in the year, since some of the crucial ferries across tidal inlets may not be operating. Heading far north into Scotland, midwinter daylight hours are really very short – as little as six hours. Spring starts early in the south of England and arrives later in northern Scotland, and springtime walkers can enjoy immensely colourful swathes of wild flowers, while deciduous trees gradually come into leaf. Autumn comes earlier in northern Scotland than in the south of England, and again this can be a delightful time to walk, as trees and bracken turn russet and gold. Provided the winter is not too wet and windy, walking a national trail can be enjoyable, but remember that accommodation and services might not be fully available. Deep snow is rare, but will lead to serious problems if progress is reduced to a crawl. On balance, long-distance walking in winter is best left to those with plenty of experience of difficult conditions.
In well-cultivated countryside, which generally means lowland regions, it is interesting to follow the slow rhythm of the seasons from the farmer’s perspective. Ploughing and sowing is followed by a period of slow growth where earthy colours are gradually replaced by fresh greens. Sheep give birth to their lambs, and cows to calves. Orchards bloom in spring, while oilseed rape blazes bright yellow in early summer, with wheat and barley turning gold in late summer. Come the harvest, apples and potatoes are picked and packed, cereal crops are mown down to stubble, and the land is prepared for the next crop. Those who walk throughout the year can observe the life and work of country folk, and if you use farmhouse accommodation, you can make further enquiries from those who know best.
Making
