Where has the time gone this year? In 2010 my three walking companions and I had walked several hundred miles in training for the Pennine Way. This year we've all been very busy so it hasn't happened in the same way. Oh well, we have just fifty miles and about 7,000 feet of accent over just three days so hopefully we'll all be okay and get to the finish in one piece. I certainly do not want the injury that meant I had to withdraw with only three days to go last year. 

What hasn't helped is that my wife and I have been away for three weeks on a cruise with Fred Olsen along the Mediterranean and up the Aegean to Venice. Absolutely fantastic and neither of us put on any weight even though the food was terrific. We exercised though. Five times around the deck was one mile so we each did up to four miles during the mornings at sea then to the gym in the afternoon for up to four miles on the walking machine. So, with all the stairs we had to climb (never used the lifts once) we are fitter than when we left.

I see that Ramblers World Wide Holidays and Fred Olsen have teamed up to do cruises with walks at each of the ports of call. Think we are very interested for next year.