Probably the Best Bacon Sandwich in the World!

What a mad week!

Monday: Drove over to Sheffield in the snow to take my daughter Christmas shopping (ouch), then went to see her perform on her tenor sax in 'SUBB' - Sheffield University Big Band. Great concert & an excellent solo!

After a meal I set off home in the freezing conditions and pitch black night. Because the Snake Pass was closed with snow, I went through Castleton and up 'Winnat's Pass' (see 19th Nov Blog!). It was minus 14, and a bit scary! Late night.

Tuesday: Amongst other things, went to the doctors to get a recurring ankle injury checked out. Need to get this sorted before the Great Wall!   Went to see Man U play Valencia. Late night.

Wednesday: Early start & a busy day in the office, followed by a scan / x-ray at hospital.

Thursday: Team Meeting, then a big night out with my team and clients at a 'Moulin Rouge' event at Tatton Park. What a brilliant night, although a few of us saw daylight break before getting to bed!

Friday: Understandably, a slightly later start than normal, but a busy day catching up with emails & phone calls.

Saturday: Hectic! Bought the Christmas tree, got all the decorations down ... then remembered that the lounge is now a totally different colour scheme, so had to dash out for new baubles etc! Friends were due round at 5:30, so lots more to do. We all gathered & then off again to Tatton for another party! Made it to bed by 2am this time...

Sunday: Who's idea was it to arrange a training walk today?! Met Andy & Paul in Hayfield at 10:00am (no, I didn't drive!) and we set out on our trek up Kinder Scout. Met this little chap on the way up.

The first two hours was all climbing, but the weather was quite good to start ( better than the fog in my head ).  This is nearing the top of Kinderlow End, where it started to snow.

.....and the view back to Kinder reservoir. Spot the Snowbow

This is the summit of Kinder. It's a good idea to walk on a compass bearing from here .... which we didn't ... and ended up on a bit of a 'detour'. Oops.

So back to the subject of this Blog. As we stopped for lunch next to a very chilly & frozen Kinder Downfall, the guys pulled out a stove, frying pan, bacon, fresh rolls and 'sticky onion chutney'. The smell of the sizzling bacon attracted a few envious comments from other walkers, but the bacon sarny was nothing short of gorgeous!

After this hearty lunch, we carried on our hike, with me feeling a little more human. So much so, in fact, that we couldn't resist a little childish fun 'toboganning'. The Survival Bag I used as a sledge says 'for emergency use'. I can't think of a better emergency than the chance to slide on the snow! It was a bit steep, but thankfully nobody came to any harm!!! (Well I was already in my survival bag anyway!)

We finished the walk at dusk after nearly 6 hours trudging through 11 miles of thick snow, ice and sludge, and having climbed 2,600ft. Hmm - think I'll have an early night.