Wye run
On Sunday I set out with my running buddy John to run to
Wye, a village outside Ashford. We had been planning it for a while. Our goal
was to follow the North Downs Way from Folkestone to Wye for 13 miles, and then
continue the 5 miles to Ashford to catch the train back.
My only job was to recce the route, but when I arrived at John’s house I realised I had left the map at home. Still, I had a rough idea, how hard could it be…
We set off in high spirits at 6:30am. Within a couple of miles, we were on top of the downs over Folkestone and heading west along our usual route towards Summerhouse Hill. As we approached the hill we took the route towards Etchinghill which I remembered from the map. That’s as far as my memory went unfortunately and this was the point that we started to lose our way.
After crossing a field, we faced the choice to go down to the village or up the hill away from the coast. My instinct said up so off we went. WRONG.
By now we had lost our bearings and were having to use our phones to track our route. Mine was on the blink and not showing where we were. John’s seemed to be ok but didn’t match with our perceptions at all. I made bold (foolish) decisions and we kept moving forward sure that we were approaching Wye.
We stopped at a sign that warned of free-range children and animals and plotted our course, moving on positively. We climbed a long hill and rounded a few bends feeling that we must be about half way when we saw the very same sign. We had run 3 miles in a complete circle. By this point John was beginning to doubt my confidence in knowing where we were going. Strange that.
The next few miles took us along winding, empty country lanes until we came to Lyminge where we decided to ask someone which way to go. The local shop looked like the best placed but the woman behind the counter had no idea. She pointed us in the direction of a local man but he was equally lacking in information although it did give a great opportunity for John to crack the joke
John: Do you know how we can get to Wye?
Man: Wye?
John: Because we want to get there!
We laughed.
Finally we spoke to a group of cyclists who directed us towards Rhodes Minnis and Stelling Minnis. We were well north of the South Downs Way but the weather was good, the company was good and it was all miles in the bank.
After asking a dog walker directions we finally arrived on Stone Street that links Canterbury to the coast. We crossed over and made our way through Bodsham and Hastingleigh to arrive, finally above Wye. The view down the Devil’s Kneading Trough was incredible (see above) and well worth the journey.
A few miles of descent later we made it to Wye for coffee and cake. We had completed 21 miles and so decided that was enough running. We took the train to Ashford and then back to Folkestone.
Lesson learned: Fail to prepare: Prepare to fail!
My only job was to recce the route, but when I arrived at John’s house I realised I had left the map at home. Still, I had a rough idea, how hard could it be…
We set off in high spirits at 6:30am. Within a couple of miles, we were on top of the downs over Folkestone and heading west along our usual route towards Summerhouse Hill. As we approached the hill we took the route towards Etchinghill which I remembered from the map. That’s as far as my memory went unfortunately and this was the point that we started to lose our way.
After crossing a field, we faced the choice to go down to the village or up the hill away from the coast. My instinct said up so off we went. WRONG.
By now we had lost our bearings and were having to use our phones to track our route. Mine was on the blink and not showing where we were. John’s seemed to be ok but didn’t match with our perceptions at all. I made bold (foolish) decisions and we kept moving forward sure that we were approaching Wye.
We stopped at a sign that warned of free-range children and animals and plotted our course, moving on positively. We climbed a long hill and rounded a few bends feeling that we must be about half way when we saw the very same sign. We had run 3 miles in a complete circle. By this point John was beginning to doubt my confidence in knowing where we were going. Strange that.
The next few miles took us along winding, empty country lanes until we came to Lyminge where we decided to ask someone which way to go. The local shop looked like the best placed but the woman behind the counter had no idea. She pointed us in the direction of a local man but he was equally lacking in information although it did give a great opportunity for John to crack the joke
John: Do you know how we can get to Wye?
Man: Wye?
John: Because we want to get there!
We laughed.
Finally we spoke to a group of cyclists who directed us towards Rhodes Minnis and Stelling Minnis. We were well north of the South Downs Way but the weather was good, the company was good and it was all miles in the bank.
After asking a dog walker directions we finally arrived on Stone Street that links Canterbury to the coast. We crossed over and made our way through Bodsham and Hastingleigh to arrive, finally above Wye. The view down the Devil’s Kneading Trough was incredible (see above) and well worth the journey.
A few miles of descent later we made it to Wye for coffee and cake. We had completed 21 miles and so decided that was enough running. We took the train to Ashford and then back to Folkestone.
Lesson learned: Fail to prepare: Prepare to fail!
