Storm Ali

Arth: "Have you heard about Storm Ali coming?"
Aggie: "Yes, but I don't suppose those Haltwhistle walkers will walk today"

Walk we did. We set off from Bardon Mill in relatively calm weather at 10am. By the time we had climbed up to the moors, the wind was up and it became increasingly difficult to stand up. It was very mild all day, which felt quite out of character for a storm.

At one point the wind had funnelled and I was sure someone would be blown over and break an arm. Then the rain came - heavy and aggressive, "like bullets" remarked one walker.

Gwen completed her "1,000 miles in 2018" part-way around the route. I thought it was sweet that her husband, Chris, was holding her hand for much of the way. I later realised he was preventing her from taking off in the wind. She is the lightest of us all by a long way.

My photo of Gwen is out of focus, much to my embarrassment.

Once our leader decided we needed to go down, we had to take a route across country. There were tussocks and thick heather.

Arth: "I don't think I'm going to make it"
Aggie: "She's getting tired, but you know how determined she can be."

We did make it down. The sun came out. We gradually dried out.

We walked 8.75 miles and it felt like 15.

Arth: "I'm sore and I need more painkillers"
Aggie: "I expect you will feel better by the morning"