Planning a day’s hike:-

• Allow; 15 minutes per km as measured on the map (20 mins if the ground is rough and the path unmarked),
• Plus, 10 mins per 100m climbed (This gives adequate time to get your breath and enjoy the view .
• Plus 30 mins for lunch. (130 mins if you find a good pub. Yippee!)
• Five to seven hours walking seems about right for an old wrinkly like me. This means you should cover 15 km (10 ml) to 25 km (15 ml) per day.

Build into your holiday:-

• Time to visit places of interest.
• Opportunities to shop, wash clothes or visit a bank,
• Rest days,

To Book Or Not to Book?

It is wonderfully liberating to travel as your heart takes you, resting where you need to rest and staying in the most charming hostelries you stumble on. We have done this out of season in France and Spain and it is really the best way to do it over there, even if it has meant occasionally having to pay for a taxi to the next big town or sleeping on a mattress in the corner of a disused chalet.

However there really is not an off-season in the UK. The Lake District can be as busy in December as it is in August. So I am afraid I must recommend you to book in advance, particularly if you are going into a well walked area like the English Lakes.

Telephone numbers are given for all accommodation in this guide Use them to check availability while planning your walk and make provisional bookings. Then confirm in writing when you have finalised your route.

Readers have asked about, or commenting on, camping at pubs. Where I have this information, or if you supply it, I will include it.

Money

Only the bigger pubs (about half) will take Visa / Master Card. However in the UK most small towns have cash machines which accept credit cards if you can remember your PIN.

The Packing List

• Tee-shirt, underwear & socks (1 set per day), – - – - "Buddy de Route" insists!
• Short pants for walking (2 pair),
• Long pants (1 pair),- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - — – - – - – - – - For night time and when weather cold.
• Sweaters, (2 or 3 light weight ones if space permits)- – - – - – - – Layers more flexible than jackets.
• Waterproof cagoule,
• Waterproof over trousers,
• Boots,
• Trainers, – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – For evening and road walking
• Washbag and towel,
• First-aid kit – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -Include sun cream you may be lucky:-),
• Maps, compass and books, – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – Don’t forget the compass!
• Money and passport (for visitors from overseas),
• Rucksack. (75 litres)

Packing

Rolling clothes, rather than folding, often cases less creases in the long run.

Weight should be be kept below 10 kilogram. If you cannot achieve this try:

• Leaving heavy items like; camera, binoculars, waxed jacket etc at home.
• Taking just three changes of clothes and plan to wash as you go.
• Posting home dirty clothes as you go.
• Taking old underclothes and abandoning them along the way. This is much cheaper than posting home.