So last weekend I sat down to watch the Olympic Opening Ceremony with friends in Guildford. Despite me hating everything about the sponsors and IOC I loved the opening ceremony and have so far really enjoyed team GBs success, which I think has largely had nothing to do with any food they ate at a well know clown fast food chain, power from some company that messed me around twice with connections or any natural extract carbonated sugar beverage they probably don’t go near.
Having left the car in Guildford and gone home drunk on the train (missing Brian May and Pink Floyd to catch the last train home) It left me with the chance to run to Guildford the next day for a ‘car recovery mission’.
I have always found that after ‘carb loading’ on ‘sports drink’ the night before a good run helps burn out any …..er…..residual ‘calories’ that might be left in my body.
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| The Water Tower near Munstead |
This run is one I have done before but I took a slightly different route. I knew this would have Air Land and Sea Blog written all over it.
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| The super dinky ‘waterfall’ near Ladygarden in Godalming |
If you run down through Winkworth Arboretum , down past the water tower and keep heading towards Godalming you eventually get to a little waterfall near ‘ladygarden’ by Catteshall Lane. I turned right there and ran towards Peasmarsh and picked up Wey and Arun Canal there.
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| Meeting up with the Wey and Arun Canal near Godalming |
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| Canal boats on the Wey and Arun Navigation near Godalming |
A mile or two along you come along a World War Two pillbox set up as part of the home guards defensive line against invasion. I’ve now run past these as far apart as Kent and Cornwall and those that have read the Greensand Way 2012 blog will know I get really excited about finding them.
As you get nearer to Guildford you notice the golden sandy banks by the river which are supposed to be one of the reasons Guildford was named.
A quick climb up a very very steep sandy slope and I got to see St Catherines Chapel Ruins for the first time. The sun was out and the views from the top of the hill are really good. you can see all the Guildford houses nestled into the steep Hill at Pewley and out towards the North Downs.
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| St Catherines Ruins in Guildford |
I got to Guildford after about an hour and half having run about 8 miles with my training rucksack on and drove the car back safely home.
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| The T 6 Harvard based at Goodwood |
The day carried on with a Air Land and Sea feel as we went down to have a Barbeque with someone who owns a beach hut at Hayling Island beach for the rest of the day. We got treated to some aerobatics by the Harvard World War 2 fighter from my home airfield Goodwood too. I fell asleep in a chair on the beach from ‘exhaustion’ brought on by excessive ‘sports drink’ the night before having not touched any ‘sports drink’ on the beach.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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| Slowly setting sun at the beach huts at Hayling Island Beach |
