Walking home for Christmas (London to Manchester)

[Marc]

<Day 8    Day 9

 

I left Stoke this morning and was glad to, that was my least favourite part of the trip. In particular I would not have liked to do the few miles to Kidsgrove at night.

 

23 miles done today, and the same distance remaining tomorrow to finish. 

What are these things for?

And the December light was good:

Aiming for an early start...a bit of stretching, etc...

 

Quote of the day:

"F*ck you and the horse you rode in on. I will have my vengeance in this life or the next" - me

 

Updated stats:

Day 1: 5,909 calories; 65,139 steps; 27 canal miles

Day 2: 5,145 calories; 53,380 steps; 20 canal miles

Day 3: 5,606 calories; 55,676 steps; 29 canal miles

Day 4: 5,178 calories; 52,165 steps; 28 canal miles

Day 5: 5,194 calories; 54,841 steps; 24 canal miles

Day 6: 5,034 calories; 51,551 steps; 25 canal miles

Day 7: 4,072 calories; 34,523 steps; 12 canal miles

Day 8: 4,403 calories; 32,797 steps; 14 canal miles

Day 9: 5,456 calories; 57,870 steps; 23 canal miles

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2017 by Marc

[Athy]

Marc, they are stop planks. They can be inserted, one above the other, in grooves which are probably under the bridge behind them. This enables the water on one side of them to be drained away if maintenance is required on that section of canal.

[Señor Chris]

1 hour ago, JonathonGleeson said:

Found it on grinder near Macclesfield right now. At least he's done his stretches....

So that's how Marc's finding his accommodation.

[Barbara Maxwell]

9 minutes ago, Señor Chris said:

So that's how Marc's finding his accommodation.

I'll do another go on the rosary for his poor soul 

[JonathonGleeson]

29 minutes ago, Barbara Maxwell said:

I'll do another go on the rosary for his poor soul 

I fear it may be too late Barbara

[Mac of Cygnet]

You're right beside my boat.  Give Cygnet a pat as you whizz past. (It's quite small - blink and you'll miss it.)

Edited December 23, 2017 by Mac of Cygnet

[NickF]

Great photos Marc. Good luck today, I hope the weather is as good with you as it is down here on the Kent coast.

[Rob-M]

Fantastic pictures, have a good Christmas and hopefully a well earned rest.

[Marc]

6 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

You're right beside my boat.  Give Cygnet a pat as you whizz past. (It's quite small - blink and you'll miss it.)

I will do! I'm in Bollington now, crossing the river Dean. 

8 hours ago, Athy said:

Marc, they are stop planks. They can be inserted, one above the other, in grooves which are probably under the bridge behind them. This enables the water on one side of them to be drained away if maintenance is required on that section of canal.

Ah, thanks Athy! I had passed so many, always at bridges. 

[Marc]

Found it! 

[Mac of Cygnet]

Thank you!

[Marc]

<Day 9     Day 10

London to Manchester on foot: done. 227 Canal Miles. The final few into Manchester competed with Stoke for least desirable. Collections of discarded needles, scallys getting drunk under a bridge, and feral children on top of a bridge:

 

One does not simply walk into Manchester:

 

I passed my house on the way into the city - Martin better appreciate the effort needed to retrieve his Christmas card

 

One reason to make the walk was to get a visceral feeling for how big my country is, how long it takes to travel across the land. I don't come away with a sense of that because the days blended into one another and the scenery was relatively constant. Albeit with a few unusual items:

 

Quotes of the day:

"How do you think walking through Gorton is safer than a canal, hahaha" - Andrew

"You do realise you're leaving DNA at an awful lot of future crime scenes" - Westlife

"There really is no need to destroy buildings along the way" - Mads

"That's a nice scenic picture [of me]. Pity there's a c*nt standing right in the middle of it. Ruined totally" - Charles

 

Link if you want to donate:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/marc-gawley  (Thanks to Sarah and Alison)

 

And thank you to the many posters on here who helped and encouraged along the way. But not:

@Gavin Higginbotham = Jonathan 

@Barbara Maxwell = Jenny

@JonathonGleeson = Andrew (too many 'mistaken' attempts at spelling Grindr gave you away.)

 

Don't worry about GCHQ tracking you, take a look at what my mum got up to using the Google Map sharing link I sent her. She definitely wasn't worried about me. At all:

 

Final Stats:

Day 1: 5,909 calories; 65,139 steps; 27 canal miles

Day 2: 5,145 calories; 53,380 steps; 20 canal miles

Day 3: 5,606 calories; 55,676 steps; 29 canal miles

Day 4: 5,178 calories; 52,165 steps; 28 canal miles

Day 5: 5,194 calories; 54,841 steps; 24 canal miles

Day 6: 5,034 calories; 51,551 steps; 25 canal miles

Day 7: 4,072 calories; 34,523 steps; 12 canal miles

Day 8: 4,403 calories; 32,797 steps; 14 canal miles

Day 9: 5,585 calories; 57,993 steps; 23 canal miles

Day 10: 4,375 calories; 50,957 steps; 23 canal miles

 

Edited December 23, 2017 by Marc

[Kendorr]

A very well done Marc, now enjoy your family Christmas.

Are you walking home for the New Year :-)

Kevin

[thebfg]

Well done and congratulations.

 

We have a beauiful country. The best way to see it is to slow down.

 

 

[J R ALSOP]

Very many congratulations, your last few days was along the canals of my childhood, i'm glad you enjoyed them as I have all my life.

[nicknorman]

Fantastic! Well done and have a great Christmas.

 

 

 

What are you doing for Easter?

[Lysander]

What a fantastic achievement, Marc, well done! Thank you (to you and to your mates) for providing a most entertaining and enjoyable Christmas thread - I have enjoyed it enormously. I hope you have a great, and restful, Christmas.

And a Merry Christmas to all CWDF members from all of us on nb Lysander.

[NickF]

Amazing Marc well done! Have a fantastic Christmas, you certainly deserve it. 

[Athy]

Well done Marc.

[Barbara Maxwell]

Knob. Jesus does not under any circumstances want you for a sunbeam. Glad you're alive. It's all thanks to my prayers, and you know it.

Beef Wellington on Monday if your lazy arse can get over here (and no, Gavin and I are not collecting you, we have lock duty). 

Babs x 

[Mac of Cygnet]

A terrific thread - thank you!   And for those wondering about the 'Rodney' boat, here's the other end.  Inscribed on the side 'TROTTER INDEPENDENT' London, Paris, Peak Forest'

[cuthound]

Well done, congratulations and seasons greetings Marc.

[davidb]

Very well done, Marc, you kept us well entertained, cheers, David

[Peter X]

12 hours ago, Mac of Cygnet said:

A terrific thread - thank you!   And for those wondering about the 'Rodney' boat, here's the other end.  Inscribed on the side 'TROTTER INDEPENDENT' London, Paris, Peak Forest'

There was once a canal to Peckham from the Surrey Docks, joined to the Croydon Canal. All long before Del Boy's time, and closed and built over long ago.

[Peter X]

More info on the canal to Peckham here, for anyone interested:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Surrey_Canal

It turns out I was mistaken, unlike the Croydon Canal which closed in 1835, there was traffic to Peckham up to the 1960s.