05/02/2024
WALKING THE PENNING JOURNEY – HORSES FOR COURSES
That phrase “horses for courses” is as appropriate for long distance footpaths as it is for anything else. Some like to run them, some like to camp along the way and others put all the organisation into the hands of recognised and capable walking companies like C2C Packhorse or Brigantes.
But Steve Thompson who recently completed the Pennine Journey has a different approach to tackling long distance paths which is less a marathon and more of a comfortable holiday shared with family members where he stays in a holiday cottage over a period of days and tackles one section of a path at a time that may stretch over a couple of years.
Thompson a former Naval Engineer says: “Not everyone is able to afford the time to walk a long-distance footpath like the Pennine Way or Coast-to-Coast that might involve two weeks of their precious holiday allocation.”
Having completed the Coast-to-Coast in 2020 as a retirement present to himself after 38 years in the Royal Navy he set about planning the 247-mile Pennine Journey walk.
“Unfortunately, I was drawn back into the high-pressure world of defence contracting having succumbed to the temptation of becoming a civil servant and was assigned an interesting new project to lead. This constrained my ability to find the time to walk 247 miles, without using my available holiday, assuming that this would be approved by my long-suffering wife. I decided that I had to look for an alternative approach.”
He realised that he could only realistically undertake this walk if he completed stages on an ‘as and when’ opportunity basis. He would also have to do them in the direction that best suited his accommodation.
“The latter decision was necessary as I prefer to use a self-catering cottage ideally close to, or on, the path. I then plan my walking and travel to and from there each day, rather than stay in B&Bs or hotels.
I like my creature comforts after too many days without them in my career. I also find the logistics easier. You don’t need to worry about your non-walking accoutrements keeping pace with your progress or paying for the privilege of someone to take on that responsibility. The downside is the obvious one of getting to and from the start and finish. I was confident that I could entice some close friends or family to join me for the odd day or two, if they brought their car and I knew that one or more of my adult children might do the same. There was also my ever-dependable wife and as a last resort, less reliable public transport. In extremis, I could always pay for a taxi.”
So, armed with a series of planning assumptions and constraints, Steve set about generating his ‘campaign plan,’ as these military types like to say. His ‘end state’ was to complete the PJ while enjoying himself, so no silly twenty-five miles stages. His main constraint was not to spend too much money and take so long that it wouldn’t allow him to spend leisure time with members of his family at other times.
The plan eventually evolved into four distinct phases, each of about a week at the same location and he completed the PJ in 18 1/2 days between September 2021 and May 2023.
He stayed in four self-catering cottages, at Garrigill, Sedbergh, Bainbridge and Rookhope. He managed to use a train on two stages. Firstly by driving to Kirkby Stephen station, heading to Appleby by train and then walking back to his car. He also used the station at Garsdale, getting off at Kirkby Stephen and, again, walking back to his car.
His accommodation was either on the PJ route or sensibly close so that he could walk from it, or back to it, meaning that he only had to concern himself with how to get back from the finish or get to the start point. Thankfully, family/friends obliged. This covered eight stages.
Thompson concludes: “Yes, there is a reasonable amount of planning with this approach, but I suppose my Services background held me in good stead and it enabled me to control my costs which is becoming more and more of an issue. Most important of all it allowed me to share my passion for hiking with my family who could join me on the route as they saw fit, as well as providing a taxi service!”
L: Simon Guy R: Steve Thompson
