I know where it is, and me and mine are going there tomorrow - how cool is that!?
Some friends of ours are lovely and mad, and love walking ridiculous distances over tough terrain and some times in the dead of night too and over the last 3 years have tricked Keith into believeing that he will have a good time if he joins them.
He has now tricked the rest of us, his lovely family, that it will indeed be 'bare jokes' if we joined in too.
So, I just found out about 2 minutes ago that the place where we are staying and starting the 'walk' from is in Hope,( which means 'a valley') in Derbyshire.
Apparently the walk is in a figure of eight and about 21 miles long, but it also goes up and down a few miles too - so add in that, plus any weather that there might be and the odd need for the loo and we are looking at a fair old yomp.
Having said that, Elyse, Thomas and I will only be doing the short walk - 3 miles + height and weather etc, along with another member of the mad family who has young-ish children. I have a feeling thought that they will already be accomplished in the walking thing, so fully expect to be bringing up the rear.
Joe and Keith will continue for the rest of the way with the others. Joe has been training and Keith is training tonight by going to play football with the guys from the Corps in the vain HOPE that running round a footy pitch at 10pm at night will provide him with all the condition he requires.
I too, have been training!
( Fiona, this will be just a warm up for you) I have been getting up at 6am, flinging on some 'sweats' and power walking for a half hour every morning this week. I think I found my stride today - a moment of suddenly thinking that I wasn't thinking about my technique ( heel, toe, hold in the tummy, swing arms and smile!), but was, infact humming a song. It was a fleeting moment and then the pain returned, mostly down the front of my legs at the moment, but I am advised that this will soon pass and then the real pain starts down the back of the legs. CAN'T WAIT!
Back to Hope then, at the north end of the village are two hills, one called Win Hill, the other called Lose Hill after some 7th century battle and Hope has the uncommon honour of having it's Church mentioned in the Domesday Book, something that no other North Derbyshire Town can claim. there is also an 'abundance of shops cafes and art galleries' . So certainly worth a visit...maybe some other time!
So yeah - three things remain- faith, hope and love. The greatest IS love, but I think Hope is going to be a great, if painful place too.
