Epilogue

So, did you enjoy it?

Yes, I loved it, although it was a lot harder work than I thought it ever could be. The first few days were easily the worst for general pain and exhaustion, but after about day 5 it got much easier. I imagine that this was partly due to swapping the hilly terrain of the Lake District for the much flatter Yorkshire Dales, and partly because we'd stopped carrying all our equipment, but also because by that point I was used to the constant walking, and my stamina had increased massively. In fact, by the end of the walk, I could easily have carried on for another week or so.

How long did it take you to recover?

As I said, weariness wasn't as much of a problem as I'd expected, so a few long nights' sleep was all I needed to get me feeling like my usual lazy self again. Injuries were a different ball game however. Dave's feet, having been trouble-free throughout the walk, practically disintegrated a few days after returning home. I told him he had trenchfoot.

Click on the picture for the uncensored version

 

My feet, however, were in such a state that only one pair of my shoes didn't cause me immense pain to wear. It took a month for my feet to stop hurting enough to let me start wearing other shoes regularly.

Would you recommend the Coast to Coast?

Definitely, yes. Although I'd also recommend reading the advice page first.

Have you got any walking plans for the future?

It's funny you should ask: yes I do. Next year, I want to take on the Five Peaks challenge and try to climb the five highest mountains in the UK and Ireland in 48 hours. This will, however, take substantially more planning and training than we did for the Coast to Coast, and so therefore comes with the added hindrance of me being too lazy to ever get round to doing anything about it. Watch this space.

Is that it then?

Unless you're thinking of doing the Coast to Coast yourself, and want some advice, yes. Congratulations on getting this far and thankyou for reading my diary - I hope you enjoyed it.