I've had my eye on the weather forecast all this week, hoping and praying that the long range forecast was going to be proved wrong. By Friday afternoon it still wasn't looking good and I had a few difficult decisions to make. Decisions that mainly revolved around how wet I wanted to get! I'd had an idea kicking around in the background for a while involving running the entire length of the Basingstoke Canal. At 31 miles (plus a few more to get home again) it looked like an achievable day out. However it's a bit of a logistical nightmare, due to having too either get to the start, or back from the finish, depending on which way you go, and with the chances of another Covid lockdown getting more likely by the day it's not going to get any easier. "The Emma" worked a full nightshift Friday night, which coincided with her getting home at 06:30 Saturday morning (perfect timing for a lift to the train station then) and thus, this looked like the ideal weekend to put my plan into action. If only the weather would play ball. An early alarm call Saturday morning saw me ready and raring to go for my lift to the station when "The Emma" got in. OK, I'll admit I was still sat in my pants having my breakfast, but I was nearly ready and in my defence it was pretty early! Early or not, part A of my plan was in place and I was sat on the train on my way to West Byfleet by 07:00. By the time the sun had actually come up and the day proper started things weren't looking too bad. Granted it was overcast and windy, but the rain was holding off for the time being and it was still warm considering the time of year. A brisk walk from the station to the start at the point where the canal joins the Wey Navigation gave me ample opportunity to stretch my legs, tighten my shoes and get comfy, ready for the miles ahead and by 08:00 I was set for the off. Straight back the way I'd just come then! Keeping the pace slow and steady I was back to West Byfleet in half the time it had taken me to walk to the start and I was soon shedding my gloves and hat as I warmed up. The canal's quite built up at the West end, with a number of houseboats moored along the banks and a well surfaced, smooth towpath, which made for some quick progress, the boats providing a welcome distraction from the job in hand. A few issues early on with my camelback leaking caused a bit of a delay. It took me a while to work out why my backside was getting wet, a situation which soon became sufficiently annoying to make me stop and have a look. A small hole in the bottom of the offending water reservoir was slowly dripping water down my backside, like some form of water torture. I tried resealing it with a bit of tape, with no effect and turning it upside down, but soon gave up on both options, eventually discarding it (and the majority of my water) in a handily placed bin as I passed through Woking. Knowing that there were plenty of shops en-route I wasn't overly worried about the loss of my water supply and continued steadily on Eastwards. With the rain still holding off, the fallen leaves were crunchy underfoot and at times that water of the canal was totally covered by a beautiful golden brown carpet of fallen Beech leaves. The Deepcut flight of locks came and went at around the 10 mile point, marking the first major milestone in my journey. At the top of the lock flight you pass through a cutting (hence the name). At 1000 yards long and 70 feet deep it's rather an impressive undertaking and it always amazes me to think that all the canals and railways were dug out by hand. When you look at the scale of some of the cuttings you pass through it's an amazing achievement and quite some undertaking. I can always imagine the look on the guys faces when the gaffer says on day one of the new job "Right then lads we've just got to dig a hole 6 feet deep, 10 feet wide and 31 miles long" Plodding steadily onwards, I paused briefly at the Canal Visitor centre to fill my water bottles from a handily positioned tap and grab a couple of photos. Unfortunately these proved to be the last photos of the day as within the next 20 minutes the heavens opened and the promised rains materialised. And boy-o-boy did it rain. Considering I was only just coming up for the half way point I was looking at another 3 or so hours out in the rain if it didn't stop!
I pushed on through the rain towards Fleet, knowing that there was a train station, shops and possible bail out point there if need be. Through Aldershot with the wind throwing the rain horizontally at me through the exposed areas of the military training grounds. I shouldn't complain though as it's the military's use of this entire area that has preserved much of the open space as rural heathland, their use preventing building or agriculture taking over as it has everywhere else. By the time I got too Fleet I was as wet as could be. With the rain showing no sign of easing I had to decide whether to push on or chicken out and slink shyly for home. Stopping to grab a sandwich and more water from a local shop I stood dripping and considering my next plan of action. I'd got this far and couldn't get any wetter, I might as well push on then! From Fleet I'm on local ground which always helps and it's only 7 miles to Odiham and the next major milestone. Through pouring rain and increasing winds I pushed on, the towpath slowly becoming more and more flooded. By the time Odiham came along at mile 29, the rain still hadn't eased off and by now I was pretty much running though one big long puddle. I knew however, that the back was broken and with the worst behind me it's only 2 miles to the end of the canal at Greywell and 10 miles to home from here. A Marmalade sandwich from my backpack (if it was good enough for Paddington it's good enough for me) helped the last couple of miles to the Greywell Tunnel and the 31 mile mark pass in a watery blur. The Greywell Tunnel marks the end of the navigable section of canal, the tunnel itself having collapsed at some point in the past. The old route over the top used for leading tow horses over still exists though and I followed this over the top, rejoining the last walkable section of canal on the other side. Within a mile or so the canal totally disappears though, swallowed up by the advent of the M3 motorway and the expansion of Basingstoke and I was finally forced to take to the roads for the last 6 miles. Helpfully, as I reached the outskirts of town the rain finally stopped. Typical isn't it, a good 3 hours of trying to wash you away and break your spirit and just as you get home it stops! Stripping off my wet clothes on the door step, "The Emma" asked if I'd had a good time? Of course I had. 39 Miles and 6:13 of running along a beautiful route, what's not to like about that. Yes, I got a bit damp and my feet hurt a bit, but what a great day out and what a great sense of achievement. How many other people can say that they've run the length of the canal? It sure beats sitting in front of the TV eating biscuits and drinking tea. And to that end, I'm off for a biscuit. Well I have just burned off 4500 calories, that's got to be worth a few HobNobs!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
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