A Small group of us set off for Purbeck and the NWUK festival on September 14th. Despite a heavy shower en route the sun came out when we arrived and the hub was bathed in sunshine on the edge of the sea.
The marquee had apparently blown away the day before so had to be replaced and thankfully the only casualty was organisation of the event which was set back a bit – no injuries from a flying marquee.
Once settled in to the wonderful cottage that Glynis had found for us, complete with hot tub we had a very convivial evening with food prepared by Mark and Mick and a little liquid refreshment to start us off.
Friday morning dawned and we togged up in our walking gear – new A Foot in the Chilterns coordinated shirts and fleeces – and Mick took us back to Swanage for our first walk – Swanage to Corfe Castle
along the ridge.
My next walk was starting from Church Knowle and was a beautiful walk but involved about 22 stiles which with 26 people was interesting. Pete was leading and was very good fun and Emma as back marker had her work cut out. Due to the stiles and overgrown path I had to make a run for it back to my car to get to the Advanced technique workshop back at the hub. From there it was back to the house to collect Linda for an amazing evening walk around Arne Nature reserve led by one of the rangers.
A very large group of Nordic walkers did not make for many sightings of wildlife but we learnt a lot and soon arrived at our camp fire supper. A delicious vegetable curry eaten sitting on logs around the fire and making new friends. Then back to the cars adorned with headlamps to light our way and falling in to bed.
The next morning it was back out again for another full day of activity – this time I was adorned with an Orange T shirt, hat and a whistle as back marker. The walk was Corfe to Creech for coffe and back to Corfe. David found us some amazing views and a lovely coffee shop with delicious Dorset ice cream as well as the coffee and cakes on offer.
Then back for lunch and for me it was off to the Power Hill Training with Marko – glorified circuit/interval training with Nordic walking poles which gave amusement to passing tourists and residents as we ran, leapt and walked up hill interspersed with squats and press ups. The aching abs lasted a while! A quick dash back to the house for a shower and spruce up and then all off to the barbeque at the hub and to attend the prize giving from the 16 mile challenge and speed hike.
As the sun set it became pretty cold and the fleeces came in handy but we soon decided drinks back at the house would be more pleasurable. Linda then had the bright idea of putting our hot tub in to commission – ‘a foot in the tub’ and even posing with a nordic walking pole each. It was in fact very effective at easing away any aches and pains from over exertion.
Our last morning dawned to lovely sunshine. Mick and Anne-Marie were leaving for Devon so once we had cleared up the house and packed up we were off for our final walk – Kimmeridge to Heaven’s Gate.
The marathon runners were coming in the opposite direction so we cheered them on as they passed and we frequently had to step aside to give them space.
Time to leave Purbeck and go to Wareham for a Sunday lunch of Fish and Chips – so fresh you could smell the sea!
The end of a good weekend and it fulfilled the bench on the hill top’s inscription of
‘Everything has to be earned but anything is possible’