Offa's Dyke

Which way to walk this famous trail? North to South or South to North? This raises the question is there any one way a trail should be walked. Do we always walk clockwise? LEJOG is spelt that way for a reason?

Offa's Dyke Path book by Keith Carter suggests the North to South route as the trail improves as you go south. However, South to North gets the sun on your back. I think I agree with Keith's Book and will be looking to walk this route this way.

Sawyer Water filter

I was lucky to win a Sawyer Water Filter a few weeks ago as part of Kieth Fosketts' Blog. The filter is good for One Million Gallons, is easy to use and clean. It is also very small.

I was disappointed this was not compared in the recent TRAIL magazine, all the others noted went to maximum about 500 Litres. For the money the Sawyer wins hands down. Pumping Filters may have a benefit over actually getting the water from a stream or pit. However, Sawyer has a bag to bag gravity system, the dirty bag can be filled very quickly dragging this through the water.This can be done with any bay system with a large opening, say Camelback.

I have used this a little so far but will give some further reports which I hope will back up my initial findings.

Introduction

Having been a cyclist most of my life, injury to knees has set me in another direction - Walking. This comes with the added support of our dog Bouzy, a small and lively Jack Russel, the walks  benefit us both.

Where we live there are many walks albeit not hilly but all the same good distances which with correct planning can be completed in a day. The Sandstone Trail is one such and runs the length of Cheshire for 33 miles. Beyond Cheshire we have Snowdon, the Lakes and the Peaks in reasonable driving distances.

One thing that I have noticed with walking is, while you can see many things driving, more things cycling, you can see the most walking as it take take you further and higher.

The amount of paths in the UK is incredible, see the National Trails, and this is replicated in mainland Europe and North America. So we should never be short of a new walk.