Sarsen Trail half marathon
2 May 2004

Off to Wiltshire for a wonderful walk: Dianne and I stayed over night in Salisbury, and I had a wander round the cathedral. Lots of crowds in the close as they'd just installed their new dean - first woman to be made a dean in the C of E.

I'd made the worst possible choice of hotel. There was a hugely noisy bar downstairs that didn't shut til 0100, after which the sounds from the street and the room next door kept me awake past 0200. And the wretched place served breakfast from 1000...not much good when we had to hit the road at 0730. So I decided to do the half and not the full marathon. Poor Dianne got even less sleep, so we were a little bleary first thing.

Dianne got us swiftly to Avebury and the start. It was very misty on the drive, but it looked like it might be a nice day. After registering we set off in the company of lots of other walkers.

Dianne near the start

The marshalling was excellent all the way round, and we were shepherded over the A4 to start a long, slow ascent.

One of the few patches of mud

We were heading up towards Wansdyke: an extraordinary 35-mile long Saxon fortification, where King Alfred fought the Danes. 

Dianne looks back the way we've come, just past the first checkpoint

Wansdyke is perched on the top of the hill, but there was a checkpoint and plenty of water just before the top. It was turning out to be a hot day, so we paused to remove a layer before getting to the top of the dyke. It is the most spectacular place, and you look onto a landscape rolling out in great green waves into the distance. 

On the other side of Wansdyke

A walker just behind us pointed over to a far hill and said that was where the half finished. Looked like quite a way away...we skirted round the ridge and then there was the toughest climb of the day (it hadn't look like it from 200m away). My new walking poles came into their own - a good investment.

Looking along the ridge

There were rows and rows of strip lynchets: land ploughed up the hillside in medieval times. Most of the landscape here seems shaped by humans, from Iron Age burial mounds to huge modern fields. Now we could take a breather as it was mostly downhill to the village of All Cannings, crossing the Kennet and Avon canal on the way. 

Heading down hill

This is the first organised walk I've ever done with no route description...but it was very well waymarked for the day, and the organisers had even put up mile markers. 

The lovely ladies of  Cannings Cross farm checkpoint

Just before All Cannings we dug out the Mars bars we'd bought at the start for a late breakfast. The next bit of the route was flat, and coming through the lovely village of All Cannings I smelt bacon. I thought wistfully about bacon sarnies then rounded the corner to see - oh joy of joys - a stall with baps and bacon sizzling on a grill. An enterprising and highly intelligent butcher was cooking breakfast for us. 'Bacon sandwich anyone?' he asked and was instantly set upon by several walkers. 

We munched happily on though the village, and the runners started coming past us. Dianne predicted that the first through would be wiry stringy types, and sure enough, several people of this description rushed by. We started to keep a look out for kilts - Chris, alias Mak's friend of the RW forum, had said he'd be wearing his special running gear.

A mile outside the village we stood aside to let runners go past us on the narrow path, and spotted a kilt heading towards us. We both shouted 'Mak's friend!' and Chris and his running mate stopped to say hello. 

Chris takes a breather, looking great in his perfect air-flow kilt

Chris said we'd made a good choice to do the half, as the best scenery was in the first 12 miles. We wished him and his friend good luck for the race, especially as it was getting very hot, and he sped off.  

A bit further on, we were overtaken by a runner dressed as a bishop, with his name 'Archie' emblazoned on his front. Not a bishop then, but a chief primate.

The archbishop just over the railway line

We were now in the Vale of Pusey, and it was flat for a few miles. It got a bit boggy in places, but there were very few styles on the route so none of the usual sliding over wet wood problems. 

Wansdyke in the distance, with a white horse just visible on the right hand side, high on the hill

There was a mile or so of road walking at this point, and then over the A342 (again, watched over by marshalls) before the approach to Redhorn Hill. I loved the horse's head made of horseshoes on the workshops at the foot of the hill.

Horse head

We passed the 11 mile marker near the foot of the hill, and headed upwards for the final leg of the walk. The road curved round to the left, so it was difficult to make out exactly where the finish was. Just climb...

Walking up towards Redhorn Hill

There were people walking towards us who'd clearly finished, and near the top of the hill a couple of marshals cheered us on. 'There's water at the top,' said one. 'What, no beer?' said Dianne. My legs were a bit surprised that we were almost at the end, but with very little sleep the night before, I was glad it was nearly over. And it was good to finish with Dianne.

At the top of the hill we walked through the gap in the hedge and there was the checkpoint - and a line of buses waiting to ferry people back to Avebury. We collected our medals and happily wore them.

Finished!

After a bit of a wait, the coach took a very long route back over Salisbury Plain to return us to Avebury. Dianne eased her running shoes off to reveal a huge blister on her little toe.

Dianne relaxes with her new blister

After packing and reassembling ourselves, Dianne kindly drove me to Andover station...where a wretched bus service had replaced the train. I was so tired that I kept falling asleep on the hour-long journey to Woking. But another hour or so and I was home.

A really fantastic day out - I must return and do the full marathon next time, and do the White Horse way before then. Thanks to Dianne for great company, and well done Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for a beautiful and well organised event.