WHY I STOPPED IN MARCH........

2012 second wettest year on record for UK

Met Office figures show past 12 months of rain is 6.6mm less than the wettest UK year recorded in 200

• 2012 was the second wettest year on record and the wettest ever in England, the Met Office announced on Thursday.
• The downpours that caused more than 8,000 homes and businesses to suffer flooding led to a total of 1,330.7mm of rain for the year, just 6.6mm short of the wettest UK year recorded in 2000 (1337.3mm).
• nAnalysis by the Met Office also suggests that the UK may be getting increasingly wetter as climate change causes warmer air to carry more water. Days of extreme rainfall – downpours expected once every 100 days – occurred every 70 days in 2012.

WHY I STOPPED IN MARCH......

It was not a hard decision to stop in Kirk Yetholm and return home to Richmond North Yorkshire. I was generally tired having walked every day since starting 7 months previous , 3712 miles in all weathers, at times in testing wet, muddy, cold conditions.As it was I probably would of been forced to stop due to extreme weather conditions that was to blanket much of the British Isles in unseasonal snow for much of march and April.  The Independent stated :
'The average temperature for the three spring months of March, April and May is 6C (43F), making it the fifth coldest spring in records dating back for more than a century to 1910, and the chilliest since 1962.
Earlier figures up to mid-May had suggested this spring was on track to be the 6th coldest on record, and the coldest since 1979, but another cooler than average period in the second half of the month has pushed the spring temperatures down.
The main reason for the cold spring was the exceptionally cold March which registered average temperatures of 2.2C (36F), some 3.3C (38F) below the long-term average, making it the coldest March since 1962, the Met Office said.'

THE SCOTSMAN By RHIANNON WILLIAMS
Published on 31/05/2013 00:00

'SCOTLAND is on track for its coldest spring for 34 years, with average temperatures between March and May a mere 4.7 degrees Celsius.
Provisional figures from the Met Office have confirmed what many have already guessed, and reveal temperatures are 1.6 degrees lower than average for the time of year. Barring a last-minute heatwave today, this spring will be the coldest in Scotland since 1979.
Average spring temperatures for Scotland are also 1.7 degrees lower than the UK average of 6C, which in turn was 1.8C below the usual national average.
Snow continued to fall as recently as last week for parts of Scotland. Exceptionally cold conditions throughout March saw thick snow fall over much of the country, blocking roads and closing schools. Strong northerly winds reduced temperatures to as low as -3C.'

Funny how things worked out!

 I was also desparately short of money , so the natural end of the venture having completed the English and Welsh National Trails seemed a way of finishing having completed something , so at least I was not completely defeated on what I had set out to do.

Of course  having stopped walking , and with rest and recuperation of body and soul , going over diaries , reliving highs and lows of the venture , discussing options I decided to raise money for the Scottish Section. I did this by selling valued items on Ebay  , selling part shares of my van to Monique . I had £300 to complete the walk, tight but achievible . Due to the tight budget I had to make do and repair regarding gear, therefore I changed the zips on the Karrimor X lite tent , put a gusset in my Craghopper trousers , padded the hip belt and  shoulder straps on the Karrimor Jaguar S75 pack, or at least Monique did, I did minor hand stitching repairs and replaced a couple of  flex tent poles which were cracked.

Monique putting new zips in my tent

I had tried to generate interest in the walk by writing an article of the venture so far to walking magazines, but the response was muted and really a 'get the Scottish trails done then we may be interested' , emphasis on 'may'. Anyhow , I had to complete it for me . I had tried to convince myself that I had done it , but I had not done what I set out to do , as it was the venture was compromised as I had not done it all continually, that is the English , Welsh and Scottish in one continuous walk. In my mind to salvage things I was now determined to do the Scottish section like a chapter 2 , starting off where I left off in Kirk Yetholm on the 12th March where I completed the Pennine Way and therefore all 15 National Trails. I suppose it was picking up where I left off but in better weather.