Facts and figures
The length
of the walking day was limited by the time between sunrise and sunset. It
was light enough to get up and sorted for the day at 7am and it was dark by
7pm.
But it took almost a full hour to get ready for the day, a little less
when it was not raining. Washing,
foot-care, packing and snacking took a surprising amount of time.
So that used up an hour of daylight. I was able to set-up camp by the light of the
moon which was almost full at the time of the walk.
Rain also caused delays. If it rained before about 3pm I walked on. But I had to be dry before the sun set as it would be impossible
to sleep if the clothing was damp. Because it rained most days I had to
find a secluded spot where all the kit could be dried. But it was also very
windy so I could dry everything in about half an hour.
But if it rained later in the afternoon I had to take shelter so that I
would stay dry and have a comfortable night. This meant I lost at least an hour every day with drying and
sheltering.
It was not necessary to take rests along the way but I would pause for a
few minutes every hour to study the map or take a drink. It was always
uncomfortable getting the legs and feet started after each pause so there was no incentive to stop.
So there were about 9 hours available for walking each day which meant I
could cover about 20-25 miles each day.
The longer days of summer would, I suspect, have allowed me to walk 30
miles each day. However, the shorter distance was be sustainable for weeks
while the longer distance might have been too much for my old body!