Tag: Monks Brook Greenway

Counting time in hours, not minutes

Lakeside Steam Railway

The final Friday of February took me on another Eastleigh wander. This time there was no mist, so I risked the Monks Brook Meadows route. This meant I could walk off-road for most of the journey once I’d left the centre of Eastleigh behind. In no time at all, I’d reached Lakeside Country Park. Instead of skirting the edge as I’d done on my last misty walk, I crossed the tracks of the Lakeside Steam Railway and headed across the centre of the park. At this time of year, the little steam trains only run at weekends, so crossing the track was perfectly safe. If you want to see them, they run daily between 31 May and 1 October, and if you’re wondering what they look like, here’s a post I wrote back in 2017.

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Mist, bridges, jetties and inspiration

Eastleigh Railway Station

The Millers Pond episode proved to be a turning point, of sorts, for plotting my next book. The Botany Bay, Sholing characters wouldn’t talk to me because the plot didn’t work, no matter how much I tried to make it. As soon as I stopped listening for their voices, I heard the other characters clamouring to have their say. They weren’t in Sholing at all. They were in Eastleigh. On Valentine’s Day, Commando dropped me off outside a foggy Eastleigh Railway Station on his way to work. I hoped walking the five miles home would prove inspiring.

Continue reading Mist, bridges, jetties and inspiration

The last training walk

27 September 2019

With just over a week to go to the big day there was time to fit in one more, fairly short training walk before the Clarendon Marathon. At this late stage we didn’t want to tax our legs too much or risk any last minute injuries so we decided on a gentle, and most importantly, fairly flat, eight mile route to Lakeside and back.

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The Running School part five and a bit of a dilemma

21 August 2018

Today was my penultimate Running School session and it was yet another very hot, humid day. Luckily, as it was a later appointment, Commando was picking me up so I’d only have to walk one way. Due to Paul being on holiday it had been two weeks since my last session but I’d been practicing like mad trying to keep my fitness up. So far, it seemed to be working. The pain in my leg has been much diminished and walking feels much less of a chore and more of a pleasure. This didn’t mean I was looking forward to a work out with Paul though. Continue reading The Running School part five and a bit of a dilemma

Back to the Running School

2 August 2018

Last week’s cancelled Running School session was rescheduled for today. Unfortunately, the weather was no cooler. By the time I reached the river I was so hot I looked as if I’d already had a gruelling workout. To make matters worse, a whole squadron of seagulls buzzed me as I started off along the river path. Walking through a mass of low flying gulls, their wings inches from your face, is not as much fun as you might think. Continue reading Back to the Running School

More Running School Adventures

17 July 2018

Today was my second session at the Running School. Part of me was slightly less nervous about the whole thing because I knew roughly what to expect. Another part of me was slightly more nervous for precisely the same reason. This time I only had to walk one way though, which was a bonus. As the session was slightly later Commando was going to pick me up afterwards. Another bonus was a relatively cloudy sky, something we haven’t had for weeks and weeks. The sun would not be beating down on me as I walked. Sadly, it was still more than a little humid so I was still going to get hot.  Continue reading More Running School Adventures

The Running School and beyond

10 July 2018

My nerves about the Running School were based on Commando’s reports of his sessions there. Each time he’d come home drenched in sweat and filled with tales of something that sounded very much like torture. For someone who has spent her whole life avoiding any kind or organised exercise this was not a welcome prospect. If it stopped my back and leg hurting it might be worth it but that didn’t mean I was going to enjoy it.  Continue reading The Running School and beyond