Training Log Archive: olsoran

Scottish Middle Champs - Birnam
First day time o event in 6 months and it certainly showed.
Lovely day, lovely place. Shame the run didn't match.

Rusty but OK through 5 if slow and with lots of hesitations. Very lacking in confidence heading up the huge spur to 6. Contours not right round here imo.

Shape of the ground seemed strange going down the long slope to 7 but pulled myself together after lots of dithering and sorted it.

Missed badly at 10...laziness and careless.. not finding the veg easy to read didn't help. Even worse miss at 14..missing the end of mtb track and heading up the ride.

Enjoyable run out in spite of my own serious inadequacies. Certainly lovely to be back in Birnam. Nice place for a middle.

Weather good so had to be shoehorning in Burnley Way Stage 2. Run / walk with T.

Cracking day it turned out too. Harle Syke to Hurstwood. Initially winding our way through fields, from stone wall stile to stile. Some nav required.

Then up to Widdop reservoir and up to the Gorple loop before dropping down to Hurstwood reservoir.

Nice country. Saw very few folk.

Have had one eye on the Burnley Way along with the Leeds and Liverpool canal, for a while but never seem to have had the time at the right time. Hence figured I might as well do it in fragmented fashion whenever down here. So...a spare day...

Burnley Way Stage 1:
From Weavers Triangle to Queen Street Mill
Not a good start. Canal towpath closed 200m after starting. No bother, just a short bypass needed.

Out along the L&L including the 'Straight Mile' through Burnley. Then up the Brun Valley Greenway past the allotments, then through various bits of nice woodland on single track.Following the Swinden Water out to near Lea Green Reservoir.

Decided to add on an extra 5k loop round The two reservoirs and out onto Extwistle Moor. Sun out and nice. Carefully circumvented a few very large black horses who in the end didn't seem too interested.

Returned to the Burnley Way for the uphill to the ruin of Extwhistle House before heading down to the River Don before the last pull up to Harle Syke. Then it just remained to head home via Casterton Avenue.

Nice outing. Not sure when the next stage will be. Well worth doing though and certainly a somewhat different landscape from my usual. Something stimulating and interesting about some of the old industrial aspects that the BW touches upon quite regularly.

Felt heavy though.

Travelling but another rest day won't do any harm.

A jaunt up Ely Catherdral tower doesn't really count. Slightly sore left hip.

Much tramping around Cambridgeshire.

Fair bit of stomping round Wicken Fen amongst other places.

Glorious sunshine.
With D & Ch out from their house to the Cam then north eastwards along the river the back the other side. Lots of folk running, biking and plenty rowing.
Nice.