If you say "pack a bag, we have a long drive ahead of us", out of the blue, understandably, I'm going to be...
A. very confused.
B. Curious about where we are going.
C. Anxious because I have no idea what's going on or how to pack.
Don't get me wrong, I love spontaneous road trips as much as the next person does, but anyone who has studied/has an interest in history or politics knows that spontaneous things lead to questionable things 8/10. Not to mention that I absolutely suck at packing at the best of times (I make a list and still manage to forget basics, like socks, but somehow always remember to bring at least 3 books), I especially suck when I don't actually know where we are going. Heck, you would be too! Wouldn't want to pack denim skirts for a mountain hike or trousers and leggings for Mimosa.
Speaking of Mimosa, I went to PGL there once as part of a water-sports residential (the full story we can save for another time) I didn't have the time to pack for this particular adventure as I had been staying at my relatives and was literally only coming home for an evening before leaving for part 1. Ardeche. I made a major mistake in trusting my parents to pack: they didn't check the weather or properly understand the kit list, so they packed long sleeve t-shirts, trousers, leggings and jumpers for what would turn out to be THE HOTTEST WEEK OF THE ENTIRE YEAR. I had no opportunity to buy shorts in Ardeche, so I had to wait until part 2. Mimosa and ended up paying an exorbitant amount for the ugliest shorts on the planet.
Moving on...I somehow managed to pack an overnight bag for most eventualities.
My top tips:
1. Pack T-shirts. Long sleeve tops absolutely suck in hot weather, pack short sleeve tops so that if you get cold, you can easily put a jumper/cardigan over the top
2. Shorts and leggings are an amazing combination. Keeps your leggles warm and if you get too hot, you can just wear shorts. Either that or pack a pair of trousers and a pair of shorts.
3. Always pack a pair of shoes you don't care about
4. Spare socks are a must!
I only had about half an hour to grab everything and then we were off. I think I love long drives because I don't get travel sick thus I can read lots, watch "Gravity falls" and "Brooklyn 99", listen to music and get a ton of sleep. Basically I zone out.
About 3 hours later, we arrive at Premier Inn in a place called Solihull and guess what? I still don't have a clue what we are doing or where we are going. Getting up at 6am will forever be unreasonable, 7am is the earliest I will wake up without turning into Oscar the grouch...
(that being said, before C-19 I was doing 5am starts every weekday. The only cure was Greggs breakfast or caffeine).
Much to the dismay of stepdad, we ended up driving to Pendle. Another thing to mention: I am not exactly great at geography, which meant that I was shocked to learn that Pendle isn't a village, it's an area in the North. Pendle actually has places inside of it and the place we arrived in was called Barley. After a lunch stop at the most useless tourist information I have ever been to, we set off on our expedition: The "walking with witches" trail I managed to find on the interwebs. Thank you Google. I wanted to do the short walk but mother insisted that us non-walkers take on the long walk. It was only supposed to take us 2 hours yet it ended up taking us 3 and a half hours.
Hill walking decidedly isn't my thing. I'll admit, the first hill wasn't too bad, although I was suitably annoyed to find that the ground was boggier than it looked and therefore ended up doing the vast majority of the walk in muddy shoes and wet feet. When we got to the top, we had some trouble with figuring out where we were and which direction to go in, Shackleton would be ashamed, luckily we saw some witch signs and headed on our way...only to find a goddamn cow field!
I hate cows. They are terrifying and they will charge at you as well as try to steal your food, as I found out during my Bronze DOFE practise walk, I honestly think they want revenge on us carnivores. Suffice to say I was really freaked out and decided to shimmy up a stone wall in an attempt to avoid the devils. Annoyingly, there was no escape. At some point I had to re-climb the wall and jump down into Cowmageddon without breaking my ankle. I was successful in that I didn't break any bones, however when I landed I found a black and white freak lying down on the ground across from me, staring into my soul as if to enchant it. In this scenario, I did what any rational person would do. I legged it.
Eventually we reached the halfway point- Newchurch. This was the best part of the trip! I bought a mystery poster from a shop called "Witches Galore", found Alice Nutter's grave at St Mary's church and saw the most beautiful valley views.
Shortly after travelling down a flat gravel road, we came across another hill. I'm pretty sure Chanctonbury Hill is a challenge for most experienced walkers. Somehow this particular hill was steeper than Chanc. I didn't think that was even possible, apparently it is. It was also covered in sheep. Having checked for horned sheeps, we decided that it was safe to climb and spent what felt like an eturnity edging upwards, downing strawberry water and taking stops to catch our breath. I think I actually wanted to cry when I saw that going downhill was equally as challenging as going uphill.
When we arrived back where we started (the joys of a circuit walk), we re-entered the car and drove up the road to stop for a picture with Alice Nutter's statue. I was in full zombie-mode by this point, I was beyond tired and wanted to sleep. Yet I couldn't because humans need to eat and it's easier and nicer to get food in the area than it is to get food at a service station on the road. We,unintentionally, ended up eating at the oldest pub in the area :The Anchor Inn. To be honest, I'm surprised we were able to eat at all considering how much of a nightmare the digital ordering system was. The beef pie and mash was heaven and the hot chocolate was just right.
Then we drove 5 hours with a single stop at Starbucks.
Needless to say, the trip was awesome if a bit hectic and muddy. It really made the witch craze- which, major surprise, I am decidedly not interested in- come to life. I will forever recommend road trips, they are the best!
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