Cheltenham Circular Footpath

So I decided it would be best to NOT just putter around the house jobless and watch telly all day... no! This is England! It rains all the time-- so when I saw the weather for Thursday to be sunny ALL day, I decided it was time to do my first hike, the Cheltenham Circular Footpath.

So it was a bit aggressive- 26 miles (which is a marathon, which my old roomie would just do.... crazy) but I was undaunted. It was a bit of a pain to find a trailhead (I walked around 30 minutes trying to find one, and had to ask someone for help). To be honest, the hardest thing about the trail was FINDING the markers, and sometimes they had markers which went against eachother (I find one post with 3 different markers going in 3 different directions).

However, the views were spectacular! And I saw sheep, bunnies, alpacas, cows, horses, ducks and piggies!

To be brutally honest, I only walked 24.75 miles (2808 calories!) but we walked to the Beehive to meet friends so it came to about 26 miles (and it came with cheese nachos!!)

A walk in the Alps

There is something to be said having a beer under the shadow of the Eiger and Jungfrau. After a 6.5 hour hike up a mountain and along the side side of it to get there- it tastes a bit like victory. It was a heck of a climb (Min Altitude: 2,146 ft Max Altitude: 7,342 ft ) however the views kinda make you forget the huffing and puffing you just did. You may have to zoom in with the google map... or just click the link to see a larger view and see all the stats.


View Wandern durch die Alpen! in a larger map

Lauterbrunnen is an amazing place, small and less toursity then Interlaken... but no less exciting! On Sunday we saw no less the 5 base jumpers while walking in the valley. Pretty sweet.

Best part: My feet did not hurt at all! Plus with the snow my Gore-tex was again tested and yet again--- passed beautifully.

I am getting sad about leaving Germany-- it is so easy to get to the Alps from there and don't forget the Schwarzwald and Bodensee! I am sure I will find some nice hikes in England though. So I guess I am sad but excited :)

Pictures coming! Plenty of cows and pretty mountain flowers!

My Thought Process....

I do not know what possessed me to want to do this trail. Living in Germany I have plenty of choices with the Alps nearby, but something about a walking trail about 200 miles long in the United Kingdom just seemed exciting. True, there are no towering mountains looming over your head, but what you do get are some sweeping vistas of the Lake District. There are no cowbells to be heard (which I feel could possibly get annoying after a time anyways), however I find sheep a tad more adorable, and we all know England has a lot of sheep. Case in point, last time I was photographing sheep I took almost 2 GB of photos (in RAW to be sure, but still), which by all accounts could be labeled under an 'unhealthy appreciation' for the animal....

And lets be 100% honest here, there is something to be said about full english breakfasts. Namely they are the best thing to happen since Cheddar Cheese (thanks again Brits!). Most B&B's seem to offer them as part of the cost, probably made by an aodrable English lady who also has a tea cosy on all the tea pots. Luckily I hope to mix hostels and B&B's to help offset the cost, and hopefully subdue my arteries from suffering a cosmic meltdown.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I did not mention English Ale. Once again I draw the ire of my friends who swear to me German beer is better, however this is a matter of debate for a different forum and I would be more than happy to outlay my points over a beer or two at a pub.

I also feel like the English Countryside is amazginly beautiful, even in the rain (but not too much please). There is something to be said about torrential downpours and watching British people sloshing around in Wellies like its just another day, whereas most other people (like myself) would be hunkered down drinking Cream Tea.

So there, my reasonings: beautiful countryside, Lake district, two Seas, food, sheep, stiff upper lip... what other reasons do I need?

Next blog: a bit of history and laying down my route

(images from: http://www.brigantesenglishwalks.com/images/coasttocoast.jpg, http://www.reggie.net/photos/ireland/sligo/carrowkeel/4737304_black_and_white_sheep-600.jpg)