Day 164 started with striking encouragement and has seen 8.17 miles walked while climbing 2085.95 feet and meeting more extraordinary people.
The cottage that I have been so lucky to be staying in just happened to be snuggled right next to the wonderful Satterthwaite Parish Church of All Saints. More remarkable was that after a quick phone call to the vicar, Revd John Dixon, from the number on the church wall I was given permission to use the church for morning and evening prayer, and most importantly organ practice as well on the delightful organ built in 1933 here in the lakes for the church. The church was opened at around 7am each morning and closed at about 7pm each evening so as long as I was organised enough there was ample opportunity to get in to pray and play. Yesterday evening I was back late from Derwent Water, so thought that I had missed the closing time of the church but after cooking chicken tikka and clearing up I went and checked and by some extraordinary stroke of good fortune the church door was still unlocked. It was 8.50pm but still the church lay open so in I crept, bid good evening to our Father and took my position at the organ. I started evening prayer in this delightful little church using my organ practice interspersed amongst the evening prayer liturgy to add a little colour and feeling through music to my worship. I was deeply engaged in an empty church with prayers spoken out loud, organ tunes played, readings read out loud and all the time facing either the organ or the altar. It was a lovely session in which I felt the warmth of companionship almost like being hugged as I pleaded for healing and tried to express those pleas through my poor attempts at playing tunes, but as the session went on so my fingers seemed to work so much better and my organ playing improved markedly better than the morning’s. After a good 45 minutes of praying and playing it was time to go. I switched off the organ, packed away my music, phone (from which I read the prayer liturgy on the Scottish Episcopal Church website) and my water. Slid the organ doors shut. Swung my legs up and over the bench. Stood. Faced the altar, flushed with the emotion of a successful evenings praying and playing, bade good night to our Father and turned to leave the church, then stopped, frozen to the spot. The church was now very dark inside with the only light visible coming from a single unflickering candle sat on a table at the very rear of the church. I was transfixed by this candle as I slowly approached, cautiously, trying to comprehend how this could possibly have happened. The church was a drafty old church and there was a slight breeze outside, so how does it burn without even the slightest flicker? The only way into the church was through two enormously heavy old oak doors with massive old steel handles and latches. It must be almost impossible to get into the church without making the distinctive metal on metal sounds of a door opening. To have lit the candle must have taken a match. There were matches provided for that very purpose on the candle table and there were four spent matches in the holder near the candle. So surely I should have heard the doors being opened or the matches being struck, or at least seen the flare of the match being struck in the organ mirror, or at the very least have smelt the distinctive smell of struck matches in the church, but I saw or heard or smelt none of it, yet here was this candle burning, unflickering, at the rear of this small church. So what did it mean? The logical answer would be that I was so distracted by my praying and playing that somebody had come to this tiny wee church several hours after it was supposed to be locked closed and crept in unnoticed and somehow lit a candle unnoticed by me. But why did the candle have such a solid unflickering flame giving the impression in this drafty old church that it would have been impossible to have blown it out. I stood transfixed by the candle for some time and thought it through. My Rector Alison Peden at St Modocs in Doune had said recently in one of her brilliant sermons that we should be far more open to being amazed by what we witness and see when God’s hand is at work. That we should stop trying to find logical explanations to the unexplainable but instead be more open and engaged with what we see or hear as God’s work and be amazed by it. Just minutes earlier I had prayed as part of evening prayer ‘Lord God almighty, come and dispel the darkness from our hearts, that in the radiance of your brightness we may know you, the only unfading light, glorious in all eternity. Amen.’ As I stared at this light I remembered my prayer from the morning and how the tender compassion of our God will bring the dawn from on high to break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the light of the world and has certainly been an inspiration for me on this journey of healing and helping. Perhaps that warmth that I felt, coupled with my improved cognitive and motor function that improved my organ practice during evening prayer, was more than just coincidence. I was prepared to be amazed. I was amazed and hugely thankful. I was at peace and now thinking where my feet were to be guided. I left the candle burning, there was no way I was going to even try to blow it out, and left the church hauling open the huge doors with a creaking wooden groan and clanking of metal and closed them behind me.
Now I had to decide where I was to be walking next and I read this description of a walk. ‘Energetic. A neglected corner of the otherwise well-trodden Lake District; some regard the climb as a dull slog over featureless moorland but with valley, heather hillsides, moorland, tussocky plateau, one steep climb and mud it is not. Do not attempt in poor visibility or under snow.’ I looked at the map. It was going to be difficult to get to as it was tucked away in a neglected corner but I had a lot of reflection to do. A lot of thinking to do and a lot to be thankful for, while I also needed some stiff physical exercise after a more relaxed day. I had become a little duzzy after the surge of people in and around Derwent Water so fancied a day with less people. A dull slog in a neglected corner with some mud seemed like the perfect plan so today I walked the 8.17 miles of the Black and White Combes loop while climbing 2085.95 feet. I sweated lots on the long and demanding climb but I also thought a huge amount and found great peace on these beautiful hills. The views were intermittent and then non-existent as I was suddenly shrouded in thick mist but this was just a great opportunity to test my navigation skills. I found an identifiable point in a fence line that I could find on the map and took a bearing from that to the cairn of White Combe. In such poor visibility it meant that I could only walk 10 metres before having to stop and find another reference point 10 metres or so away on the same bearing taken from the map. As I did so I was thankful that I was able to remember the old adage for bearings: ‘Grid to Mag Add’. I had worked out the magnetic variation on the map so was able to add 8º to the bearing to ensure accuracy over a distance of 1 km from my point to the cairn that marked the summit. On and on I went checking every 10 metres until, in the distance, through the murk of the mist was just visible the outline of the large cairn. I had made it in appalling visibility. The Cairn was a large structure that was almost like an old collapsed stone building or sheep pen so offered shelter from the driving rain and wind. Perfect for lunch. As I ate I checked the map and remembered the advice from the book. ‘Do not attempt in poor visibility.’ I checked the map and saw the reason why. There were steep drops around scree slopes and gullies and no easily discernible paths. They were there but had to be found through pinpoint navigation. I had two options. Cancel my aspirations to tackle Black Combe as well and retrace my steps back to the road from which I started, or be pig-headed and carry on with careful navigation. After last night’s candle, coupled with such a successful bearing to the cairn, I was confident. I was feeling strong after the climb, had a clear head, was sat on this windy wet hillside on my own yet felt anything else but. I was in good company. So I pressed on.
My compass and my ability to use it didn’t fail me. I found Black Combe cairn and trig point with ease but had also realised that in my desire to find peace I hadn’t seen another person today. Nobody at all. I was regretting my desire to seek some space and as I stood at the trig point trying to take a selfie, out of the gloom, like ghosts appearing from some other world, came two fell runners. They were local to the area and knew where they were going using Harvey’s fell running maps as their guide. They were great guys so I grabbed my opportunity and handed them a flyer, asked them to pour a glass of wine and watch a video, but before I could ask for their names and a photo on this chilly hillside they were off and disappeared into the gloom almost as quickly as they appeared. I couldn’t see the path off the hill so took another bearing. Followed it, found the path and then headed South for the road. It was a long descent giving much more time for reflection but instead I just smiled and hummed along to old tunes that I could remember but had no words for. I was in a great place.
So as I dry out the challenge in numbers since the start:
Days completed: 164
Total Miles Cycled: 867.38
Total Miles Walked: 912
Total Miles Run: 152.23
Total Miles Paddled: 7
Total Distance Cycled, Skied, Run and Rowed in the gym: 53.53
Total Distance Swum: 4,580 metres
Total Miles covered under own steam.1,994.64
Total Height Gained under own steam: 79,461.65 feet
Mountains Climbed: 7
Hills Climbed: 31
Days of Voluntary Activity: 8.5
Organ tunes learnt and performed: 5
Salmon Caught: 0!
Bats Found:0!
Curling Matches played in: 8
Curling stones placed on the button (the centre of the target): 3
Weight Training Sessions: 14
Weight shifted: 10kgs lifted over 558metres or 11,160kgs moved over ½ a metre,
Aerobic Circuit Sessions: 9
Press Ups: 739
Pull Ups: 22
Sit Ups: 1204
People Met and Hands Shaken: 518
Pots of tea shared: 31
Prayers joined on the top of a hill: 3
Prayers joined in the street!: 4
Prayers joined in a Train Station: 1
Prayers joined in a Café: 2
Pills popped: 996
Days until Driving Licence (lost to epilepsy) possibly Returned: 716
And most importantly – Money Raised as at Week 44 – £8,771
Considering I started this challenge 11 months ago very quietly with no target beyond a fiver, thanks to the brilliant advice from a friend of mine, I am absolutely thrilled and again thank you all. That is £54.48 for each and every day that I have managed to find the will and energy to do something worthwhile and my goodness it has been worth it for my peace of mind, for my healing and for the five wonderful charities you are supporting through your generosity. Long may it continue. May I also ask however that if you are not sponsoring me to please consider it for as much or as little as you can afford.
Thank you all for your incredible comments and support. Please continue to spread the word.
If you see me around do please give a cheery hello and shake my hand or toot your horn and give a cheery wave to show your support and encourage me on.
Thank you
Yours aye
Archie
Thank you for joining me on my own personal journey and encouraging me to walk, cycle, climb, paddle, sport and do good deeds each day to ‘Beat the Beast’ while helping to improve the lives and life chances of so many more people through sponsorship. The Five Charities that I have selected to support are:
- Cancer Research UK – My Father Succumbed to Lung Cancer; a couple of friends are currently fighting cancer and I am fighting a brain tumour. Let’s Help to Beat Cancer Sooner.
- The Prince’s Trust – Inspiring and preparing disadvantaged Young Lives for success.
- British Red Cross – helping those in need around the UK and the world whoever and wherever they are.
- World Wide Fund for Nature – For a Living Planet and a Future Where People and Nature Thrive.
- Help for Heroes – Support for our Wounded and their Families. To learn more about my story that brought me to this point, how I plan to ‘Beat the Beast’, what activities I plan to do within the challenge and why, please see my welcome video on this page.
How to Sponsor Me
The Beat the Beast Challenge is self funding through my own contribution while keeping costs to a minimum with voluntary support and corporate sponsorship in kind. Therefore the entirety of every penny donated will go directly to the 5 charities listed above.
Please sponsor me by completing a standing order form either through your own personal internet banking or by completing a hard copy standing order form in your branch of your bank and then handing it in to the teller.
It is entirely up to you how much you would like to and are able to sponsor me for so do please give as much or as little as you can. Every penny will be very gratefully received.
While I hope you will encourage me to keep going by sponsoring me for every day I survive and am able to find the cognitive and physical capability to complete a day’s task designed to improve my chances of ‘Beating the Beast’ or improving the lives of others, 5 days a week, four weeks a month, for as long as ever I can. Any One off Cash contributions will be most gratefully received and distributed in exactly the same manner to the five charities as the sponsorship. Any one off donations can be made by BACS or cheque.
Thank you for having enough faith in me to sponsor me.
Yours aye
Archie