Why are we walking in September & why in England?

When we retired in 2010, Melanie & I committed to doing something that made sure we were fit at least every year.  We planned to do a trek, climb a mountain, run a marathon, whatever.  The training leading up to the annual event, as well as the endeavor itself, would make sure we could easily pass our regular medical checkup that we always scheduled as soon as we returned home.  We already walked a 810km Camino across northern Spain in our normal Spring walking season this year so why are we doing another walk so soon?

Time!  And inspiration!  And frequent flier miles! 

We are not scuba diving, guiding or teaching much this year with both of the boats that we work on now located in Indonesia full time.  That gives us more time on our hands than we know what to do with.  As a result, earlier this year we spent a month in Guatemala studying Spanish and travelling.  We'll also be in the US a month longer than normal later in the year and do more travelling there than we usually do.  Even with that, we had time in September and we were looking for something to do. 

That brings me to the inspiration part.  We had heard of the Coast to Coast walk several years ago from a couple of Scots who were walking the Camino de Santiago.  We had it in our bucket list "for someday" until our friends Charmaine & Tim walked it about the same time we did our Camino Primitivo in May.  Their great stories and photos pushed the walk much further up the bucket list.

Finally, the real impetus for the timing was that we had a bunch of miles in the Singapore Airline's KrisFlyer program that were expiring in September.  If we didn't use them soon, they would be wasted.  The "almost free" flights balanced out the higher cost of accommodations and food on this walk so it looked like a match made in heaven.

I probably have to admit at this point that whenever we are in the US, I tend to "find weight".  Before we go, it's a good idea for me to lose some first.  At least I won't feel as guilty when I have that second crabcake or whole turkey leg!