Somme Crossing

We had a couple of jobs to do before putting our red/blue route research into practice. We had to say goodbye to our Suffolk Branch travelling companions, who had been such great company (they were only walking the first half) and wish them bon voyage as they travelled home to Suffolk. Then we had to mark entering the second half of the route with photographs at the half way fingerpost.

This was down by the river right where we rejoined the C to C route. Actually we'll confess our error before the eagle eyed spot it from the photo and worry about our mathematical prowess. We weren't half way in distance but we were in terms of the holiday!

With our reduced party numbers we made quite a quiet start as there was less chatting than usual. We were also a tiny bit worried about whether the route we had on our map would be the right one or if we'd be entirely reliant on spotting coloured markers on an unknown route. 

It wasn't long before we discovered we had nothing to worry about. We came across an information board showing the 2 main routes and by happy coincidence the route shown on our map was the blue route that we needed to take. If it hadn't been we would have been fine anyway as we were able to take quite a detailed photo.

 We'd been assuming the second half of the route was going to be a lot flatter than the first. This wasn't about to happen any time soon though, and it was quite a pull up to the Nine Standards. This is the reason why they are visible from quite some distance away. It was also very windy as we got closer to the top. Wooly discovered this when he posed for a picture with the standards in the background. We managed to capture the exact moment of him being blown off his perch. 

Leaving the ridge of nine standards and following the posts of the blue route we experienced bog trotting in all its glory and we felt like we'd been transported to the Somme.

This was the typical scene for a mile or two, and in places the mud was pretty deep. Trekking poles are essential for the crossing to allow depths of mud and its liquidity factor to be tested. We were a bit sad though when our male minder managed to break one of his trekking poles in the process. He did a good job though and selected great routes for us to follow in his footsteps; we were just like Good King Wenceslas and his page. Somehow (miracle!) we all managed to stay clean and dry and we also enjoyed the crossing and the big open spaces. It was actually easier walking than the narrow, muddy and slippery stream path which took us away from the bog and towards Keld our destination for the night.

We'll pick up the tale there next time.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie, Gio and Wooly xxx