A Snowy Morning on Cannock Chase

Pedometer says: 10.07 miles in 3 hours 1 minute
Average speed: 3.34 mph

When I looked outsite this morning, the snow came as a bit of a suprise. I hadn't bothered with the weather forecast last night and their predictions of when it will snow and how hard haven't been all that accurate anyway. The local council hadn't been expecting snow either as all the roads were untreated until I got to the Lichfield Road. On the way, there was more evidence that the weather has ADD: the snow on the ground turning to slush at the same time as it starts to snow agin.

The road through Cannock Chase was, unsurpisingly, untreated. I decided not to go for my usual start at Chase Road Corner but instead parked at Bednal Belt.

Bednal Belt car park

I set off on foot for Chase Road corner, thinking as the snow fell that it might be a good idea to turn around and go home. In the first half hour I saw one cyclist and no footprints. Going across Brocton Field I found the path I'd picked was a layer of snow on a thin layer of ice above a puddle. For 40m.

Brocton Field near Chase Road Corner

I headed down into the Sherbrook Valley as the weather cleared up and the cyclists and runners all started to appear.

The route I ended up following was roughly one I use a lot, slightly exteded by the fact I parked at Bednal Belt instead of Chase Road Corner. Along the Sherbrook to the Stepping Stones, then across to Seven Spring and up Abraham's Valley past the shooting butt to Rifle Range corner.

Heading back

As usual it was mostly mountain bikers out that early, with a half-dozen runners and the same number of walkers.

I notice the bit on my £5 pedometer that hooks onto my belt is fracturing, thus perfectly justifying the purchase of a GPS...

The Wrekin and The Ercall

Pedometer says: 6.58 miles, 1 hour 56 minutes
Average speed: 3.4 mph
Car park to trig point: 31 minutes, 31 seconds

The key to the Wrekin is to get their early, otherwise there's nowhere to park.

Still cold (it is the middle of February), but no ice this time. Back in January the path to the top was a solid piece of ice once you got out of the trees. Then I ended up crawling sideways on all fours to try and find some grip. Thankfully not today.

It was cloudy at the top, so no view. No sun either which made it cold enough to zip the jacket up.

As usual I went down by the southern path, then around the western side back towards the road. Then up the Ercall and back down again to the car, forming a figure eight.

I suspect the milage is a little over-optimistic, I take shorter steps going up or down and the pedometer is calibrated using the mile posts on the Trent & Mersey.

Along the tow path

Rugeley to Stafford
Pedometer says: 13.62 miles, 3 hours 48 minutes
Average speed: 3.5 mph
Soundtrack (chosen by iPod): Sgt. Pepper, Frances the Mute, Hoochie Coochie Man and Best of Jethro Tull.

A cold day, with some ice still floating in the canals. I got wet in a downpour going through Rugeley but thankfully that only lasted about 10 minutes. Apart from a bit of drizzle around Wolseley Bridge it was otherwise dry. Parts of the tow path, especially the Staffs & Worcester, had a layer of mud over a hard surface leading to much slipping and sliding.

A couple of barges were moving, most were tied up. Just one dedicated angler to be seen, hiding under his umbrella in the downpour.

Plenty of ducks and drakes around the canal. Flocks of geese standing around in the fields. I saw one large bird, possibly a kestrel, but it got out of my way pretty quickly. Too quick for a photo, and as I didn't have my real camera just the crappy camera on my phone it wouldn't have been worth it.

An easy day tomorrow, then the Wrekin on Sunday I think.

Training schedule

We made the cut again this year and so have a team in the K2B. I want to break 12 hours again this year, so I'm starting the training schedule now.

• Minimum of a 10 mile walk on Saturday or Sunday
  
• Walk back from work on a Friday afternoon once per fortnight
• 20 mile walks T-6 and T-4 weeks
• 30 mile walk T-2 weeks