WALKERS TESTED ON PENNINE WAY
THE elements may have been against them, it may not have been the most scenic route, but Forfar walker Jim Nicol and his old RAF pal Alan Middlemas can now "tick off" the gruelling Pennine Way as they vow "never again!" (Forfar Dispatch August 19, 2010).
The daring duo, aged 72 and 69 respectively, tackled the laborious route from Edale in the Peak District in Derbyshire to Kirk Yetholm in the Borders.
Both keen hill-walkers, they had planned their route meticulously for over a year after re-uniting three years ago.
They had served together in the RAF in Cyprus but lost touch when they left in 1962, meeting up again in 2007 through Forces Re-United.
They completed the West Highland Way before agreeing to tackle the 267-mile Pennine Way, eventually covering a staggering 280 miles on what was almost to prove "a walk too far".
Speaking on Monday after recuperating at home over the weekend, Jim told the "Dispatch" he was pleased the walk was over.
He said: "It's certainly not a tourist route. There are some nice parts along the way but it is more of a challenge than anything else."
A keen photographer, the elements prevented Jim capturing some of the 18-day walk which ended last Friday, although he has put together an impressive selection of images.
He continued: "It's not scenic, some of it is wild, wild, wild in areas where there is nothing for miles."
The elements were also against the pair as they experienced days of "horizontal sleet" and the current economic climate was more than evident in some of the villages they visited with local cafes and hostelries boarded up.
Jim continued: "This isn't a walk that you just decide to do, you have to think long and hard. You're walking through bogs over vast areas and in parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire you are walking on flagstones. They used to be factory floors which have been sunk into the bogs - it's like walking on a pavement for over 20 miles."
Picking up some aches and pains along the way, particularly with their knees, the determined duo were spurred on by the fact their efforts were raising funds for their chosen charities, with Jim choosing Lippen Care and Alan the British Heart Foundation.
Starting off on July 27, they were more than half way through their task when Jim received the sad news from his wife Marian that his brother Sandy had died suddenly in South Africa.
He continued: "We got into a routine where we would finish our walk at night, clean up our clothes, try to get them dry and then we would repack our ruck-sacks and get going again. The last three days we were walking on adrenaline.
"When I heard about my brother last Monday it was a real blow. I spoke with my family and we agreed we should finish the walk. Sandy did a lot of climbing and walking and it's what he would have wanted.
"But this isn't just a walk, it's a challenge, and we now realise we are not as young as we thought we were!"
Donations, which can be Gift Aided, can be made at the Whitehills H.C.C.C., The Outdoor Store, David Irons & Sons, The Scottish Hydro Electric Shop, the East and Old Parish Church and at Ian and Ray McLaren's barbers shops. Pledges can also be made on yerneiper@googlemail.com
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Weather for Forfar
Thursday 24 May 2012
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