At the start of the year, I signed up to run the Clun Valley Challenge which is a 26 mile event in Shropshire. I thought it a good excuse to go visit Mum and slot a marathon ish distance run in before the Ultra in July. Unbeknownst to me, my Mum and Auntie Sarah had also signed up to the short route (walking) as a goal for their getting fit campaign for 2022. So we all went off and started training (or in my case, kept training), and that was that. Then in April I was ill with possible Covid and it became apparent that navigation was not a strong suite of my mother's. Finally, someone asked if I would run a different marathon with them at the end of May and a plan in my head hatched: why didn't I walk the CVC with my mum and aunt as support and navigation aid, and then run the marathon with Eryl later in the month? Seemed a good way to make the most of social trips to beautiful places, and also give me a week extra to get over the virus and training lost as a result.
Clun is in Shropshire. It is one of the larger villages (I stop at calling it a town though it has a sizeable church, at least two pubs, a festival and castle) in a region where there is a lot of not a lot. It is also 20 minutes drive from my parents which is convenient. The walk in a charity fund raiser for the school, but also advertised on the LDWA so attracted a few people from 'arf' (anywhere that is not rural Shropshire). It is surrounded by hills, which are not that high but pack a few gnarly climbs. Like most LDWA events we had been supplied with a set of instructions that were borderline uninterpretable (third stile on the left, by the gnome that only rises at dawn anyone?) which had been part of the reason for concern about navigating for mum. The night before, having descended on my Mum's with the dog, I could sense there were a few nerves and already chat of dropping out at Cluneton which was about 2/3rd of the way round and had a pub. There was also an assumption we only needed to get there five minutes before we went off, and my race day paranoia insisted that perhaps a little earlier was advisable.
Despite not a good nights sleep, I was up at 6am to walk the dog on the village playing field before we headed to Clun. Sadly Oscar dog wasn't allowed to come with us for this one. We parked up in a field as directed by the helpful volunteers and walked over to the school. Clun was looking particularly quaint and sleepy in the morning light of what was promising to be a scorcher of a day. It is easy to forget when you do it all the time, that a race registration and start line can be a confusing place. Mum and Auntie Sarah hadn't thought to remember their numbers but it was fine as a list was on another table, and we picked up out clip cards as well as a piece of fruit and a bar of Cadbury's chocolate (awesome touches), before walking through to the hall for string and tea. I tied my route clip card on to the front of my bag where I could tuck it out the way and grabbed a cup of tea. I didn't pay attention to what Mum was doing and it turns out she had tied her route card to the back of her bag which I only realised at CP1, and I had to clip her at every point after! Obvious when you know, less so when you don't!
The long route walkers had already gone off and the hall was slowly filling with walkers of all shapes and sizes, along with a few early doors walkers. There was a short briefing mostly thanking volunteers and the guys who keep the footpaths and off we went!
We started off on the road and then climbed up and over the castle. I am so glad we were following others at this point as I would have had difficulty interpreting the instructions for the first half a mile! The castle was quite steep and an elderly lady in wellies was gathering some kind of herb flower in the field which tells you about Clun really. Soon we were on the Shropshire way on a narrow path in a steady crocodile of walkers. I didn't realise but Mum was finding the pressure to walk fast a bit stressful. However, a lovely lady did rescue to the tip of Mum's walking pole and also taught it was called a ferrule.
By the top of the first climb, Mum, my aunt and I were pretty much on our own, at the back of the back. But literally as we hit the top stile, those gallant runners in shiny apparel appeared over the hill and leapt over the stile, making us all feel very unathletic. I tried not to be envious (and as the heat build through the day, I became even less envious) as the vaulted stiles and gates, looking agile. In my mind, I look like this.....in reality I look more like an overweight goose waddling down the hills squonking.
The first manned checkpoint was in a wonderful garden tucked out the way. I mean it was almost regal this garden. And there was cake and tea. A few people appeared to have gotten waylayed by the snacks so it felt less like the back arriving in the checkpoint. Mum put coffee in her thermos flask which then remained hot for far too long, but there was an actual water dispenser for filling bottles which was amazing! Cool, fresh, clean water in the rising heat felt very needed. The brownie I had was a bit average but we had one more manned check point later.
The next section of the course took us over tow big hills. At the top of the first was Bury Ditches which is an ancient hill fort. The climb up through the forestry tracks was pleasant even if mum was trying to drink her coffee still. Initially we were in a shady, almost damp gully, which was nice after the rapeseed field induced hayfever. Then good old forestry tracks. As we wound our way up, it became apparent several people were actually a bit lost and at one point I was leading an amalgram of about three groups up the hill as the instructions were a bit vague and at least I had a copy of the map. But we all made it to the hill fort and were rewarded with stunning views.
Then we started what would become a bit of a mammoth hill. It started on the road, and this was hot with little shade, plus very steep. Mum plodded up, and I nagged everyone to drink. At the little car parking spot, we stopped for a sit as Mum needed to eat and drink something. I am glad we did as it got steeper and longer through the forest track and I think it took us nearly an hour to do the next hill. Mum was struggling and this was further than she had walked in practice. I kept telling them there was a checkpoint after this hill and then we were pretty much there, which was true but also a bit of a push on the truth....the checkpoint was still 2.5 miles from the end.
Arriving at the mast, I was pleased to get mum on some flatter ground. This hill was forested so the views were less stunning but a mast makes for a good 'we made the top!' moment. It was all down hill from here. We exited the forest to the check point and were told we weren't quite last. Sitting down, Mum and Auntie Sarah made themselves coffee. The guys at the checkpoint were clearly very ready to close up shop too!
The road section to Clun seemed to go on and on and on. This was not helped by me needing a wee and nearly leaving my phone in a bush. We were over taken by the last people on the way down. Mum kept going but I could tell she was knackered. It was blooming hot. Below in the valley we occasionally captured amazing views of Clun and the route we had taken. We all agreed that the concrete on sore feet was bad but poor Aunty Sarah was suffering blisters quite badly. Arriving on the edge of Clun village, we nearly missed the turn up school lane and into the school. I was really proud of Mum for getting to the end, and we arrived to certificates and badges made by the school kids which was a lovely touch. Plus the usual LDWA soup! It was amazing after sweet stuff all day.
We saw some of the people we had passed and been passed by on the route and it was a nice feeling to finish. We walked back to the car, and then drove home. On arriving home, Auntie Sarah couldn't stand up after opening the gate and Mum couldn't get out of the car. they eventually made it to the picnic table by the house where Dad bought out some fizz and we spent the evening celebrating our nearly nine hour walk! It had been a marvellous day.
Sadly, the next day, training beckoned and Oscar and I were up early to go to Mortimer Forest for a training run. Mortimer Forest is near Ludlow and a more popular forestry commission site than the ones on our walk the day before. It was wet and grey, and I really didn't fancy it but Oscar needed exercise and I needed to train so we headed off up the climbing Jack trail. This is a 9 or 10 mile trail around all sections of the forest. We started from Vinnalls car park and picked up the trail. The first section is a loop out through the forest then a meander up to the highest point at Vinnalls where you get an amazing view on a clear day. It was mostly easy to follow and good under foot which was nice, but my legs were hating all climb and more walking was done than I might have liked.
After the climb we turned to head across Climbing Jack common which were swathed in the most amazing bluebells
Oscar was having fun and we started the long descent in to the gap between the hills that make up the forest. It was lovely and runnable. I had decided to cut the route slightly and skip the section by Black pool to make it 8 not 9 miles and this was pleasingly easy to do. I had seen next to no one so far. And it was back to climbing slowly. Oscar had a bit of a dip in the stream, which seemed unnecessary given it was damp.
Only as we headed towards Whitcliffe did things both level off and did we see a few more people. Not many, just the odd dog walker. It was nice for it to be a bit more runnable on tired legs. I think there were also a few more decidous trees, and I was getting less wet. But then we turned and descended to stream again. Which meant we were soon climbing up around the shoulder of the Vinalls pine forest again, but we were getting closer to the end. Eventually we ended up on the easy access trail which I looped to make it up to 8 miles. I looped back to the car park a damp and tired mess.
I'd recommend Mortimer forest for a run. For the most part, its runnable, and the trails are mostly well marked (once or twice I had to check the trail markers coming back the other way to be sure). It also felt safe despite being quite empty. Plus the dog could be off the lead on the way round. But note there are no loos or facilities. Parking is free.
Overall, a good adventurous weekend in Shropshire and I am sure I'll be back to do the Clun Valley Challenge in the future.
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