Oxfam Info Session and Walk to CP2 31st March

Sue, Sandra and support crew leader Paul headed down to Queen Elizabeth Country Park early for the Oxfam Preparation Session. The morning was extremely informative. Lots of practical information from Oxfam and the Army as well as a talk by two ladies from the Haslemere Normans who completed Trailwalker in 2011.
Most useful tips - 1) Copious amounts of chocolate and crisps must be consumed at all times 2) Soak your feet in vinegar (smelly!) 3) Walk, walk, walk! Paul has made a note to remember tyre socks to help the support crew exit muddy fields. As there will be a long extended period of dry and mild weather before and during Trailwalker these will prove superfluous! Vale Venturers were singled out by "lovely" Tom from Oxfam to talk about our fundraising efforts so far - we have hit our initial target and have raised our pledge to £3000.  Thanks to all our fab friends and family for supporting us!

The view from Harting Down CP1

After the talk we hit the Trail for the first time.  The route to CP1 is fairly easy.  Much hilarity was induced by Cockshott Wood - we are compiling a list of "rude" place names!  Lunch at Harting Down. A selection of cakes were on offer and we tried the chocolate milk energy drink kindly supplied by Tropical Sun.

Mmmm Tropical Sun!!

Paul returned to QECP to collect the car whilst Sue and Sandra headed to CP2. This section is  hilly! Beacon Hill being a real challenge but it is short and sharp! There is also a long, long uphill section which seems to last forever. The plus side - what goes up must come down and there is a long descent into CP2. The view from there is super scary though as it looks like the section towards CP3 is phenomenally steep - "a s****er of a hill" as described by Sandra! More hilarity and essential al fresco loo stops in a disused quarry area followed. Reached CP2 well on target for 24 hours finishing time...bring it on!

A shocking hill!