Category: County Tops 2020

2020 project to visit highest point in all UK Counties

County Top 9 – West Midlands

Turner’s Hill – 269m / 883ft – 09/03/20

I drove from rural Shropshire towards the heart of the Black Country, an area of past life memories and place names I knew well – traffic flows increased and before long I was moving patiently in midday congestion towards my planned start point, a small area of natural parkland at Saltwells, in the middle of a built up housing area. The car park was fairly busy with dog walkers so I made sure to leave as much gear out of sight, locked up and fingers crossed!!. Having eaten some lunch on the go, I was quickly into my boots and out of the car – despite the rain imminent I decided not to go with the waterproof overtrousers (living on the edge, eh?) and set off, firstly north on a track in the woodland which brought me out at the Dudley Canal towpath which I followed eastwards for almost 2 miles before heading upwards across fields to the hill I could see marked with a TV mast on the horizon.

Turner’s Hill on the horizon

The canal passed through a mixture of industrial sites and residential areas with houses right by the canalside. I passed one or two locals with dogs and numerous Canada geese who were nesting and/or conducting courtships on the grassy banks and spoke to one or two people evidently living in canal boats moored up on the far side.

Canada geese protecting the nest

I was walking with the wind behind me, which was starting to get colder but the rain still did not arrive – I was not looking forward to the return journey back to the car… I passed a canal junction and a large turning area, there were numerous plaques and information boards describing the area’s industrial past, traditional tradesmen and ways of life. I left the canal just before it entered a long tunnel by an old mill or pumping station – at this point the lack of buildings around reminded me that I was right in the heart of Peaky Blinders territory so I decided not to hang around!! I headed off across a couple of fields towards a housing estate, crossed a main road and then started on an uphill track which eventually led to Dudley Golf course. Despite the sodden ground and the cold, windy weather there were one or two hardened amateurs out on the course. I found my way through a few fairways to the clubhouse at the top of the hill then along a short track to the official “summit”. It became clear as I approached that I would not be able to get into the compound enclosing the TV tower so I found the highest point on my OS app, filmed the obligatory video and considered whether to return by the same route or look for a quicker way back down to the canal.

Locked out…

I settled for a more direct path which bordered the southern edge of the golf course, but would take me through more of a residential area back to the canal. No sooner had I turned into the wind and started to go back downhill when the rain arrived.

Back down the fairway into the rain

It had been promised and here it was, in my face all the way back to the car – I picked my way along a narrow path through the scrub off the course when I should have just gone straight down the middle of the fairway, but I would not want some random idiot hiker slipping, sliding and trampling across my golf course so I stuck to my principles. I was starting to get very wet now as I reached the housing area and found my way through a couple of littered alleyways back to the canal. I had my waterproof jacket but the decision to go without the overtrousers came back to haunt me as my normal walking trousers got saturated and stuck to my legs like a neoprene suit. I joined the canal on the spur which took me back to the junction I had passed earlier and turned back into the wind and rain for the last half hour or so. When you’re wet, you are only wet and cannot get much wetter, so best enjoy it while it lasts and look forward to getting dry, although I would have to improvise somehow with only the car at my disposal. I passed the barges from earlier (strangely nobody to be seen).

Only one odd nut!!

It was just a case of keeping the head down into the weather and as I left the canal path and entered the woods I was sheltered from the wind and the rain began to abate, in fact by the time I reached the car it had pretty much stopped. Well this was not a walk I had really been looking forward to, it could have been worse but also a lot better – any way County Top number 9 ticked off, wet trousers laid out to dry in the back of the car and off en route to my next stop – Warwickshire.

County Top 8 – Shropshire

Brown Clee Hill – 540m / 1772ft – 09/03/2020

After a few weeks break and some preliminary trail running tests in preparation for the Spine Race, back in the days before Coronavirus really took a hold of our lives, I took the opportunity of a 3-4 spare days to cram in a planned 12 county “summits” covering a corridor from the Midlands down to London. The previous day I had been in Stafford doing a couple of business related things and visiting family so my itinerary was set up with that start point in mind. So a quick breakfast at my parents’ house and then off towards Shropshire, a drive of around 45 minutes via Telford and Bridgnorth to a small village called Ditton Priors where I parked up at the local sports field. Conscious of my busy schedule, expecting very wet and muddy terrain in most places after the recent heavy rains and floods, and also a forecast of strong winds and more rain, I was eager to get off to a good start. I quickly donned my boots, waterproof jacket and took along my trekking poles more as a speed aid than anything else.

Arriving in Ditton Priors
Planned route…

The first section out of the village started along a narrow track before accessing farmland and a series of boggy fields taking me in a south-westerly direction gradually uphill for about a mile before arriving at the lane beside Bank Farm. A short distance down the lane I turned right through a gate onto a straight, metalled track heading steeply uphill through woodland for about 900m opening out onto moorland.

The steep track up with the village down below

As the gradient lessened the wind got stronger and by the time I reached the point where the track turned left on the Shropshire Way and started to meander towards the summit my calves were suitably warmed up.

Joining the Shropshire Way with the summit in the distance

It was a good moment to take a short breather and have a good look at the distant views back down to the village and beyond.

Meandering track to the top with views back across to Staffordshire
Just a short breather

I sped along the track skirting some ruined old buildings and a small tarn before reaching the trig point situated at the top of a small flight of steps. It was by now very windy and the video I filmed was almost unintelligible. I took a moment to admire the views all around into Wales and back across he Midlands. This would be my highest point of the week and was also my highest point so far in this challenge.

The trig point summit of Brown Clee Hill
Windy

I had made good time reaching the summit – a net ascent of 310m and a distance of about 2.5 miles – but I was on a mission and could not linger for too long. Rain was closing in from the west, County Top number 9 was waiting and I set off back down the track with the wind behind me. I passed a solitary walker also racing against the weather (“no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!”), exchanged a brief hello and quickly descended back to the lane and out of the wind. I decided to miss the muddy fields and instead followed another lane downhill back to the village, coming out near the church.

Ditton Priors Churchyard

I also passed the butcher shop and it’s unmistakeable aroma, resolving to stop by on my return in the car, which I reached a short while later after passing through the village. So that was Shropshire ticked off in very good time and I left ahead of schedule and ahead of the rain to find my way across to a rather more suburban destination in the West Midlands.

Route profile – ascent statistic is inaccurate due to low point registered before satellite fix!!

County Top 7 – Rutland

Cold Overton Park – 197m / 646ft – 22/01/2020

We stayed overnight on a very nice, modern campsite near the village of Greetham – hardly anyone there, music in the washrooms, hot showers, would recommend it to anyone. The weather was misty and grey when we woke and had breakfast before setting off through Oakham to our start point at Braunston in Rutland, or at least that was the plan. On the way we decided to fill the van up with fuel and almost got into a fight with an impatient driver who decided to pull in front of us just as we got ready to exit the forecourt. As we could not move there were several more annoyed drivers behind us. The offending motorist received the sharp end of my tongue as we waited for him to fill up, pay and move on. Driving through Oakham I was not concentrating on the SatNav, took a wrong turn and ended up heading south on a main road for about 5 miles before we could turn off, re-assess and plot a tricky cross country route to Braunston. Undeterred we arrived in the small village and found a convenient place to park not far from the church.

Braunston in Rutland Church – PJ leading the way

Whilst there was no big rush for the day, I was keen to get going, Cath decided not to join (quite wise) so it was just PJ to accompany me on what promised to be another yomp across some soggy and muddy farmland. Learning the squelchy lessons from yesterday I opted for my faithful hiking boots (also quite wise). The expected route was about 7 miles but again without detailed map to hand I was working from memory and using OS maps on my phone to find the way. The actual route we took looks like this.

We started off via the churchyard and quickly entered some wet fields tracking alongside a brook, the wildlife at this point was far enough away not to trouble us. First real obstacle was a tired wooden bridge over the brook with stiles either side. PJ is not the most proficient stile hopper in the dog world but today would see him coming of age!! With some encouragement he managed to clamber over and we crossed into the next field with a choice of paths. After consulting the map I opted to go right, skirting the edge of the field that would bring us more quickly to a road section of the route. The path across the field was OK but as we approached the point where we would join the road I could see we had another challenge. The stone stile exit in the wall was half blocked by a low tree with gnarled branches meaning I would have to crouch down almost on my knees to get through, at the same time dealing with the muddy surface. In addition, the electric wire fence that we had followed along the side of the field was lying along the ground, easy for me to step over, but sadly PJ is less knowledgeable about such things and yelped very loudly when he trod on the live cable. By now I was trying to squirm under the tree branches and decide we just needed to get out the field before I could find out if my trusty companion was badly injured. We both got over the wall and landed on the roadside verge – PJ was evidently a bit shaken but seemingly well enough to continue so we headed off smartly southwest along the road section with a gradual uphill gradient. There was a decent verge for most of the way and not too much traffic which meant we could set a swift pace and soon arrived at Withcote (or without in our case!) where we would pick up a bridle way back northwards towards Knossington.

End of the road section

The bridle way was well signposted and easy to follow but pretty soggy and trodden by horses but easier to negotiate in boots. PJ just skipped daintily along, watching horses playing in neighbouring fields and showing no sign of any post traumatic stress, which was good because soon we would be dealing with angry sheep!. The first encounter was just before the bridle way became a muddy path descending to a seriously squelchy section across a stream. We were met at a gate by a welcoming flock of woolly friends who appeared to have a “thou shalt not pass” group mentality. Undaunted (or totally daunted, there was no alternative) I opened the gate, making gestures with my absent trekking pole and gently urging the sheep to make way with a few careful expletives. Note – sheep and dogs don’t understand swear words but it can still be quite liberating if no-one else is around and the livestock are not unduly scared. PJ and I eased our way through the welcome party who reluctantly let us continue but then decided to stalk us down the track. It always seems like there is one sheep a little braver than the rest who then follow suit. The next 200 metres or so was a stop/start comedy of us walking then turning around to see the sheep creeping up behind. They would then stop, I would offer some more gentle (expletive) encouragement for them to quit their silly game and then turn around to carry on. After about 5 repetitions they got bored first (or maybe they just didn’t want to do the really squelchy part over the stream?). PJ is usually quite lively when sheep are around, but on this occasion I think he was pretty intimidated – today was turning out to be quite an adventure for him at least. We crossed the stream and then followed a muddy track up past a farm and into another short section of fields – not so muddy, however another small party of sheep gathered to greet us. Emboldened by the last encounter we did not hesitate and this time quite enjoyed the little cat and mouse game as they let us pass then closed ranks and followed behind.

The woolly entourage playing cat and mouse

The fields gave way to a narrow lane and then onto the minor road into the pleasant village of Knossington where we would turn and head east back across undulating fields towards our destination high point of England’s smallest county.

As we crossed the fields gradually gaining height there were some glimpses of views in the clouds, and numerous stiles for PJ to negotiate. Mostly he managed, building his confidence with each one, until we got to one a little higher than the others, no escape route either side, and just a couple of planks crossing the stream for me to balance on and him to land on. I decided it would be safer if I unattached his lead at this point, at least then he would be able to go fetch help if I fell off the planks!! It took several attempts to finally coax him onto the stile step and then to leap/dive/jump/scramble over the extra height and I thought he was going to fall into the stream or knock me off, but all was well and we continued on our way. Not long afterwards we came to a field with no visible path but my phone map told me just to head pretty much due east in the direction of the trig point on the opposite side. A couple of squelchy minutes later we were there, video and photo done and County Top no.7 in the bag.

Ecstatic moment at the trig point!!

We got a couple of strange looks from the farmer in the adjacent field but nothing to tell us we weren’t welcome (just the sheep in that mood today!). All that remained were one or two equally boggy fields to cross before a stone farm track took us down quite rapidly back into Braunston where Cath was enjoying a coffee in the local pub. Back at Betty dirty boots were discarded, a quick drink and snack and we were on our way back home – the first County Tops mini-adventure over and already thinking about the next one.

County Tops 5 & 6 – Cambridgeshire & Essex

Great Chishill 146m / 479ft and Chrishall Common 147m / 482ft 21/02/2020

To Essex and back

The SatNav told us it would be just under an hour’s drive to Great Chishill from where I would solo walk/jog the afternoon route taking in the high points of Cambridgeshire and Essex. All went well at first along some quiet country roads until I realised after about 40 minutes that the indicator signals in the van were not working. We pulled off the road at a petrol station to double check, succeeding in annoying a few car wash patrons but deciding that we needed to find a solution. Cath quickly searched online for local garages as we drove off – directional misunderstandings meant a choice of reversing about 50 yards along the main road from some traffic lights or negotiating a few narrow one way streets through the village of Linton – I opted for the latter and we found the desired garage shortly after. Some more nifty reversing was required to avoid causing congestion and the garage owner came out to give a diagnosis – probably a blown fuse. I got out the vehicle manual and managed to locate the fuse, friendly Mr Garage Owner departed and promptly returned with several replacements, fitted one, tested the indicators and all was well. He refused to charge us but accepted a small donation towards his next pub visit. Mini-crisis dealt with we drove the remaining miles to find a suitable parking place for the afternoon

Great Chishill itself occupies a prominent position so when we parked next to the village play area near the church we were already getting views of the surrounding countryside. Cath had decided not to walk, which suited me as I really just wanted to crack on and get it done – 2 tops and about 7 miles, probably across muddy farmland, so we agreed PJ would not accompany me either. I set off along the road knowing that the Cambridgeshire high point was not far away, just off the road about 800m from the road junction. Once again in such a flat area there was no clear high point so I went with the prescribed grid reference and found myself in a muddy field. So that was it, county top number 5 ticked off, now for the walk.

Setting off in Great Chishill
The high point of Cambridgeshire…

The route I had planned followed public footpaths across farmland and tracks down into a valley, over the county line into Essex and back up to Chtishall Common. The path over farmland was very muddy and sticky, but no cattle around.

The track back up to the common was just wet but allowed me to jog a little and make faster progress as the clouds arrived and the temperature started to fall. There were a couple of alternative routes across the common to the high point – the one I took was muddy wet and slippery until I reached a small wooded area. Rather than skirting the outside I followed deer tracks through the wood – a bit of a battle at times but eventually I came to a signpost which pretty much marked the spot.

Essex high point – number 6 done!
Just battled through the wood- happy chap!

I filmed the obligatory short video and had a look at my map to decide which route to take back to the van, I had already concluded it would not be the same way I came so there were 2 choices of similar distance, both of which would involve more muddy paths. I made my mind up and moved on.

Quickly back through to the southern edge of the wood I skirted around the edge of a field on firmer ground than before and turned onto the expected very muddy track which traversed a couple of open fields before reaching a farm. Here I was treated to a large group of deer scattered across the fields but not brave enough to come and say hello. At such rare times I wish I had a really good camera available but sadly not the case. I reached a lane and decided to jog again the short distance to Little Chishill, crossing the boundary back out of Essex in the process.

The road descended before I reached the turn to head north again along another undulating and muddy (surprise!!) farm track which brought me back to Great Chishill. It was then just a short uphill walk into the village and back to Cath, PJ and Betty. A quick drink and snack then back on the road heading north towards Rutland.

County Top 4 – Suffolk

Great Wood Hill – 128m / 420ft – 21/01/2020

Crisp sunny morning in Suffolk

We drove in the dark rush hour traffic around Norwich still without a confirmed place to stop overnight in Betty. Finally we settled on a dog friendly pub called The Fox and Hounds in the village of Thurston, near Bury St Edmunds. When we arrived the car park was too full so we had to bide our time but all was well, good food and a couple of drinks, sociable locals and staff made for a comfortable night.

We didn’t have to wait too long for space to appear for Betty and once safely parked I put the heating on as the forecast was for a sub zero night outdoors, which proved to be true. We slept warm enough and were not unduly disturbed by the noise and tremors of nearby passing freight trains. By morning the ground was white over with frost and poor Betty had taken the precaution of automatically emptying her water boiler to avoid a frozen catastrophe. I took PJ for a quick walk so he could empty his water boiler and Cath got hot bacon rolls from the sandwich shop across the road before we packed up and headed off for the first destination of the day, a small village called Chedburgh.

We wasted no time finding a disused car park opposite a disused pub, got our walking shoes on and headed for the hills… or at least the one hill… or at the very least the high point on the horizon that we could see to the south east about a mile away in the beautiful sunshine. Suffolk is flat and this walk did not look very demanding. We could have just headed off in a straight line across some empty farmland but that would have been even less fun and nowhere near my 5 miles per walk objective.

A short stretch of main road led to the hamlet of Depden where we took a footpath into some woods which brought us out by a field occupied by two friendly donkeys. Usually PJ is a little uncomfortable around larger animals but as we skirted along outside the fence the donkeys followed and love blossomed…

PJ donkey love xx

Things soon developed however, as a lady came striding across the field, we assumed to make sure the dog was not scaring the donkeys. Nothing of the sort – she gently admonished us for not following the public footpath directly over the stile and through the field. The path we had taken was in fact a run used for horses, sheep and probably pigs as well! So we climbed the stile and crossed the field (PJ is not brilliant with stiles but with Cath’s persuasion he leapt over). The donkeys decide not to follow now, preferring a newly brought bale of hay. Another stile was negotiated into a small enclosure of sheep who did show some interest in us but we quickly left over a third stile and across a small footbridge which led us back to the main road. We crossed the road and headed east along a lane towards a farm and a TV mast which would be in the general area of the county high point shown on OS maps at 128m. Keeping a close eye on the GPS we found a place what appeared to be at least not any lower than the land around it, stopped for photos and video then contemplated how to deal with the sudden euphoria…NOT!

The Suffolk Top
Suffolk altitude euphoria at 128m

Without my pre-printed maps I was working from memory a little in terms of the route back to the van however knew we needed to go past the TV/telephone mast and find a footpath across fields to a place called Rede from where we would take a country lane and then back over disused farm land to Chedburgh. And so it turned out, muddy, boggy in places, frozen in others, a mapped footpath across a field which is not really there and a brief chat with a couple of guys out walking in the sunshine. Not long later we were back at the van with 5 miles done, another top ticked off and ready for the second adventure of the day.

Mountainous Suffolk
Betty patiently waiting…
The Route

County Top 3 – Norfolk

Beacon Hill – 103m / 338ft – 20/01/2020

After a week away supporting the Spine Race along the Pennine Way I felt fresh motivation and the need to kick start the County Tops challenge. With a few free days and decent weather forecast for the east of England I persuaded Cath to come along with me in the motorhome (still going by the name of Betty) to knock off a few of the easier ones.

So after a quick pack up of the van and some last minute route planning on Sunday evening we left on Monday morning in beautiful sunshine for the drive down through Lincolnshire and into Norfolk, destination East Runton. We were probably about 2 hours into the drive by the time I realised I had left my printed off maps at home. Clearly there was no turning back so it was going to be a bit of a memory exercise and heavy usage of the OS maps app on my phone. The pleasant drive into the flat fen lands of East Anglia terminated with us parking up near the beach as planned. Norfolk county top is the lowest in the UK outside of the City of London, but will be one of very few that actually involves an ascent from sea level.

Coastal path sign at East Runton car park

We quickly got the walking gear on and set off westward along the pebbly beach towards West Runton. The pier at Cromer was visible to the east and some hardy surfers in wetsuits were profiting from the lovely weather.

Looking back to Cromer pier

The beach section was about a mile long, Cath enjoyed searching for fossils, PJ had a great time running around sniffing out things that only dogs can and I was map checking to make sure we had a suitable beach exit as the cliff top path was about 40 feet above us and showed plenty of signs of erosion and land slip caused by recent rainfall no doubt. There was indeed a road from the beach at West Runton which we took and then headed inland on a public footpath through a couple of fields before crossing the main road into the village.

Finding our way through some houses we crossed a railway line and then took some trails heading gradually upwards into woodland with a communications mast seeming to be our objective.

Up through the woods

We came to a flatter clearing and a small road track which we followed back eastwards before arriving at another clearing marked with information about an old Roman settlement.

Beacon Hill

Just like that we had reached the highest point in the county of Norfolk, confirmed by a local walker whose dog evidently thought we had no right to be on his territory!! We could see the sea through the wide gap in trees, not a bad little spot to stop and take some photos.

View out to sea

With the mission to tick off another 4 county tops over the next 2 days only just begun and the daylight starting to fade we found another woodland track off the hill which eventually crossed a field and back into the village of East Runton.

Back down through the woods

Very notable was the architecture of houses with walls made of large pebbles cemented together. Overall quite nicely surprised by this place, an area we have never visited before, we found our way back to Betty after a decent walk, the rounded up 4.6 mile total distance just keeping me on my rule of 5 miles for each!

The OS maps app recorded route

After a quick drink we were back on the road heading for Suffolk and looking for somewhere to stay overnight near Bury St Edmunds with temperatures forecast to fall below zero we would be putting Betty’s heating to the test.

County Top 1 – East Riding of Yorkshire

Bishop Wilton Wold – 246m / 807ft – 29/11/2019

Caged Trig Point at Bishop Wilton Wold

So, rather than trying to do all the detailed planning of 100+ walks before beginning the challenge I just decided to start ticking some off, beginning with the ones closest to home. After weeks of seemingly neverending rain it was great to take advantage of some clear, crisp weather with a shortish drive for myself and PJ to the car park at Millington Wood near to Pocklington, a place I’ve been to on several previous occasions to walk sections of the Yorkshire Wolds Way. This time however I had plotted a walk about 3 miles north through farmland and a lane along the course of an old roman road called The Bence. I have decided to try to take PJ along to as many of these “tops” as I can – physically he is fine to walk 10/12 miles, the problem is he is a terrier and will basically chase anything with 4 legs or 2 wings. What better start than a muddy path for about 3/4 of a mile through a field of sheep? I just have to keep him on a short lead as he strains to have his fun. (Good for the biceps I hear you say). The other issue is that PJ evidently has the most wonderful sense of smell and wants to keep stopping to sniff for something. On longer walks it becomes very difficult to build and maintain a good rhythm – hopefully just doing shorter ones with no real time pressure will make it more tolerable.

We negotiated the field of sheep and came out onto a short stretch of B road (not busy, decent grass verge) with views far away to the south-west across the vale of York and the steam billowing towers of the power stations at Drax and Eggborough.

I jogged along most of the country lane part (gradually building myself up for longer distances…) and soon we arrived at the junction with the busy A166. About 200m along the road on the other side was our destination, hidden by a hedgerow. Theroretically I could have driven to this point and parked right in the layby – but that is not part of this challenge (at least a 5 mile walk to accompany the “top”). We crossed the main road and found our way along a lane only to discover that the trig point was inside a small, fenced triangular compound with a locked gate. Inside the compound also was a TV mast and some water storage tanks I think. Nearby, across a muddy field was an old burial mound – actually higher to the eye than the trig point so we stumbled (well I stumbled) over the mud and we stopped on the mound – enclosed by trees so no real views, but nevertheless I had visited my first “county top”.

We stayed a short while, PJ had a snack and the retraced our steps back to the car. The sheep were still an attraction in the field as we descended towards the wood with Cold Wold and Millington Pasture as a backdrop. So about 6 miles walked, first one ticked off and onto tomorrow.

2020 Challenges

The Spine Race

I have this hate/love/hate relationship with the Pennine Way – not sure why – and for the last 2 years I have worked as a volunteer supporting the Montane Spine Race which has made me love it a bit more. Read more at https://thespinerace.com/. I have no doubt that I am not mentally or physically capable of completing the main race (268 miles in 7 days), especially in winter and certainly not without a great deal of specialised training. I am not an Ultra Trail runner, however there is a big part of me which believes I can do the shorter summer Flare event which is 108 miles in 60 hours (basically about 45 hours moving and 15 hours rest at my pace). So my plan is to work towards building endurance and entering this race for Summer 2020. Who knows I might not be accepted so meanwhile….

County Tops

… I stumbled on this idea of visiting the highest point in each county of the UK and started researching. The underlying problem is the actual definition of a county – historical, ceremonial, current and what this means in terms of number of peaks and how to organise the logistics. I finally settled on using a book called The Peak Bagging Log Book – County Tops of the UK which lists 108 counties across England (48), Scotland (32), Northern Ireland (6) and Wales (22). Of these 4 share a peak with a bordering county, so in reality there are only 104 to visit. I have added an extra one for extra completeness as there is some debate for Nottinghamshire – one of the stated high points is a man-made structure, so I’ll be visiting 2 peaks for that county (not too far apart so shouldn’t be too much trouble. The challenge will mean I will see places I would never otherwise probably go to, and take me to the Isle of Wight and the Shetlands, Orkneys, Stornaway and Isle of Arran in Scotland. The lowest “peak” is High Holborn in the City of London (22m above sea level) and the highest is the far more famous Ben Nevis (Highland) at 1345m. I just might save that one until last if I can make it work logistically. On the subject of logistics – I’m committing to this challenge with some ideas in my head but no detailed plan ands schedule other than the objective of completing the challenge in 12 months, effectively by end of November 2020. I’m setting myself one rule to make sure that each peak is part of a walk of at least 5 miles. This will be essential for the more remote ones but will stop me from the temptation of simply parking as close as possible to others.