Their story, in their words…
For five days we hiked in the Peak District along the Limestone Way and the Great Ridge. As we made our way further north into Hope and Castleton during the final parts of our journey, we were rewarded with some of the most beautiful scenery of the entire trip.
Our first day proved to be the toughest. We had set ourselves the challenge of traveling to Rocester and then walking the first 10 miles on the same day and it quickly became the hardest day of the entire trip. We were hiking in over 30-degree heat, trudging through numerous fields and, rather enviously, past people (and lots of sheep) enjoying the shade. By the time we reached our first campsite, we were exhausted. To ensure we were pushed to our absolute limits, it began to rain leaving us with no choice but to put up our tent in the downpour and attempt cook dinner with our very hazardous gas cooker, which had an alarming habit of bursting into flames. After all that, we were ready to take on anything.
Over the next four days, we continued north into Matlock and Hope passing through several beautiful villages such as Bakewell and Ashford-on-the-Water. The final days were highlights for us both, particularly our walk along the Great Ridge. After a very steep initial climb up Mam Tor, we found ourselves at the peak of the valley with picturesque panoramic views of the landscape for the entirety of the walk. This was a perfect end to our trip as, from our highpoint, we were able to see where we had come from on previous days, making us realise just how proud we were to have completed such a challenge.
Although we both found this incredibly challenging at points, we are incredibly grateful to have been able to have had the opportunity to experience such an adventure. The expedition pushed us to develop our organisation, physical and mental resilience, with the MEF encouraging us to take on something so ambitious. Knowing that we can accomplish such a feat is incredibly motivating and something that would not have been possible without the Mark Evison Foundation.
