Sunday Morning on The Roaches

View from the trig point on The Roaches, looking north. Shutlingsloe on the left.

Guide says: 9 miles (14.5 km), 4.5 hours
Pedometer says: 11.18 miles (18 km), 3 hours 23 minutes, average 3.3 mph
GPS says: 13.6 km (8.45 mi), average 4.02 km/h (2.5 mph)

I always thought that the pedometer overestimated the distance when going up and down, but I never expected quite that margin of error (although the guide distance should have given me a clue).

I parked at the foot of the Roaches early and was ready to set offby 0845. I had the GPS all set up, but had managed to forget the guide book (a rather battered Jarrold Pathfinder Guide 16) and the OS map. I've done the route a few times before so I knew where I was going, even without the waypoints programmed in.

It was a beautiful morning, as the photo shows. Clear blue sky, but since clear sky had preceeded dawn by some time it was cold and frosty. This had the advantage that most of the muddy ground on the route was solid for once.

The first half hour I saw 4 people, two where I'd parked having their coffee by their camper van, one at the trig point in the distance and one man walking his greyhounds just as I reached Roach End. As the morning went on there were more and more people. Returning to the car just after noon everyone seemed to have arrived and the rock faces were busy.

As it turned out, one of the aching soles from Friday's trip along the canals was due to another blister which started complaining late into Sunday's walk. That wasn't too bad; good fitting boots, thick socks and a blister plaster kept it under control. It was Thursday that was bad thanks to work shoes, rubbish socks and forgetting to put another plaster on after the previous had come off. It was hell using the clutch on the way home.

Next walk will be this Sunday, another roam across the Chase.