Distance - 10.8 Miles
Geocaches - 8
Start - Upper Warlingham Station
Finish - Banstead Station
It's London Loop time of the month. Cheap tickets to London ordered. Mr Piggy Sausage Rolls purchased. Alarm set for a stupid O'Clock.
Today, an alarm is not needed. The dustbins are coming with me. This means one of them is in the shower for 4:50am and then asking his mother where the iron is. The other is more slumbersome, having not got in till 2am.
To be fair, both were ready for the 5:40am departure. Even if Alex didn't have shoes or socks on. Car and train to the smoke.
I leave the pair of them at Euston Station and make my way to Upper Warlingham station, via Victoria. 8:52 and I am ready to head off.
Before starting the walk, I have to turn on my new toy. I have had my eye on an Autographer camera since I saw a review saying that basically they were rubbish but an interesting concept. I thought it could be a nice way of doing time lapse photography of a walk but wasn't going to pay the £299 price for one. A bit of sniping on ebay got me a brand new one for less than half price.
And here are the results.
Saturday 12 April 2014
12/04/14 - Happy Valley Mappi
Basically rubbish, but an interesting concept. I do like the way that it captured the route, caught me caching and eating my Piggy savoury snack. Not sure I like the weird fish eye effect.
And the walk. Another superb stretch of the London Outer Orbital Path.
Granted the start is pants, walking through Upper Warlingham and past the gas tanks but as soon as I am up the other side of the valley, I am rewarded with great views and countryside.
The one problem with this leg off the Loop is that the trains only run from Banstead at 38 past the hour. As I hit the downs, I realise I can make the 12:38, provided I can cover a mile and a bit in 20 minutes.
This leads to some fast walking. I may have misjudged the distance as the minutes are rolling by and my sat nav is not showing the requisite amount of progress.
I start running. This is not a pretty sight for the Banstead golfers.
Two minutes left and I am at the road. 150 metres uphill to the station. I sprint. I get on the platform.
The train left 1 minute ago.
Damn Mr Piggy and his savoury delights.
I have an hour with no pub and only one side tracked cache to find. I spend the other 45 minutes bluetooth connecting my Authograher camera my android phone and rerunning the route.
I'll have a good look at the downs on Stage 6.
And the walk. Another superb stretch of the London Outer Orbital Path.
Granted the start is pants, walking through Upper Warlingham and past the gas tanks but as soon as I am up the other side of the valley, I am rewarded with great views and countryside.
 |
| Looking back the way I came and the Chalk Cliffs I walked on in Stage 8 |
The first cache of the day is a boster. Took a bit of finding and minor tree climbing, but I was in the woodland wilds, so no-one can see.
Get back onto the path and start getting a stride on, through Kenley Common and passing a WWII airfield. Eerily enough, a siren sounded as I made my way past.
Get back onto the path and start getting a stride on, through Kenley Common and passing a WWII airfield. Eerily enough, a siren sounded as I made my way past.
 |
| More great walking on the Loop |
Cache 2 is found far more easily, even if I am muggled on signing. I don't think there were interested in what I was doing in a bush. Some straightforward country walking through horse fields before I am muggled again at cache 3. These two people were even less interested in what I was doing behind a tree.
I then arrive at the easily the best part of the Walk - The Happy Valley. This is an area of chalk downland that provides superb, wild walking.
I then arrive at the easily the best part of the Walk - The Happy Valley. This is an area of chalk downland that provides superb, wild walking.
 |
| This Looks Promising for the Mappiman |
 |
| It leads to this rural idyll |
I drop down to the valley floor and then climb the other side to reach the a mile long ridge path that takes me into Couldson town. The first part of civilisation since I left Warlingham.
 |
| Take me to Couldson |
Not much of interest in Couldson, a couple of micro caches to keep me entertained. Not too disappointed to move on, especially as the environment gets rougher and rougher the further I get out of town.
When I hit the countryside again, I am provided with a lovely view of London, albeit around 15 miles away.
When I hit the countryside again, I am provided with a lovely view of London, albeit around 15 miles away.
 |
| London, far away over the hedge |
I have been walking for three hours now and decide that I can take a breather - stopping at the lavender fields to sit on a stile and eat my lunch.
Find a couple more caches - that were last found by a cacher called Mapman4752. What are the chances?
Find a couple more caches - that were last found by a cacher called Mapman4752. What are the chances?
The one problem with this leg off the Loop is that the trains only run from Banstead at 38 past the hour. As I hit the downs, I realise I can make the 12:38, provided I can cover a mile and a bit in 20 minutes.
This leads to some fast walking. I may have misjudged the distance as the minutes are rolling by and my sat nav is not showing the requisite amount of progress.
I start running. This is not a pretty sight for the Banstead golfers.
Two minutes left and I am at the road. 150 metres uphill to the station. I sprint. I get on the platform.
The train left 1 minute ago.
Damn Mr Piggy and his savoury delights.
I have an hour with no pub and only one side tracked cache to find. I spend the other 45 minutes bluetooth connecting my Authograher camera my android phone and rerunning the route.
I'll have a good look at the downs on Stage 6.
Get back to Euston, via Victoria and the kids meet me in the Doric Arch, 20 minutes before our train home.
An all round successful day.
An all round successful day.
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