thousandmilesblog | Walk Post 037 - Croeso i Gymru (it's a whole other country)

Date of Walk: 20/06/10
Walk organized by: Saddleworth Pedestrians
Start time: 10:45
Start location: Coach park, Llandudno
Walk length: 10.35 miles including post-walk wander
Weather conditions: Sunny, warm

Ormes Bay and Little Orme (I have no idea where Cheep is)

Details:
Coach trips are lovely, and it's great to get to somewhere different. It was also good to finally do a walk outside England. I do find them very tiring though.

Nineteen people completed this walk. Starting from the coach park we walked to the sea front, then along the sea front for a while before turning inland and starting a steep climb into the hills. The first steep section was quite long, and it took my legs a bit by surprise. My calf muscles went very stiff, and I had to take the hill quite slowly (even more slowly than usual). The first hill always seems to be before I'm properly warmed up, but this was a bit worse than usual. Maybe I need to run around a bit before starting walks. It took ages to get to the top, but the views were quite nice when we got there. We stopped for quite a long break, and then went straight down the other side of the hill. Downhill always feels ominous, because there's invariably more uphill right afterwards. It was a bit twisty and stony, but I was keeping up better now. I've decided on a plan to take the hills in as long as they take but to increase my pace on level sections and try to stay near the front of the group. That way I can hopefully improve my fitness and still be able to walk the following day.

After this hill we walked across quite varied terrain, along country lanes, twisty paths and open fields, up another small hill towards Deganwy. We passed the site of the old castle and went down towards the sea at Deganwy. We walked along the coast to Great Orme, taking a path that went partway up the hill and along the side, then down towards the bay at Llandudno. We then walked back along the sea front.

It was a very nice walk, and I would have felt a lot better about the sections where I did keep up, but it seems that there's some bad feeling among at least a couple of people about having to wait for me going up hills. Most people I've talked to about this seem to think it's no big deal, it's not a race and I'll get better over time, and these are the people who know how much else I'm trying to juggle and realise I can't really do much about my fitness at the moment. They also remember I've only been walking any great distance for just less than a year. But you never know, when a couple of people vent about something, if it's just them or other people feel like that too and aren't saying it. One person keeps insisting I should drop down to the shorter walk, but I don't see how that's going to help matters and it doesn't help me cover enough miles at the weekend. I've also got the distinct impression this person just plain doesn't like me, whether that's because I'm slow or for some other reason I don't really know.

If it's just the odd one or two people, and I don't really see what they're bothered about, then I know I shouldn't really let it bother me. On the other hand, it's not going to make walking very enjoyable to know that people do feel like that. I really want to walk with groups for safety reasons, but I have been worried about this issue for a while and wondered whether it would be better if I walk on my own so nobody is inconvenienced by me. I do tend to cover the same distance in about the same time when I walk on my own, but I know I go at a much steadier pace and don't take such long breaks. It's a bit of a dilemma, because if I give up trying to keep up I'll never be able to, and there are a lot of people I'd miss and a lot more I'd never get to meet.

Anyway, Wales is always nice. And it's nearly summer, at which point I can do a lot more about this whole situation.