Zoe and I went up to Baysdale Abbey yesterday to check out the new 2017 venue for Camp Woburn. The building is fantastic, isolated from the world in a green valley, with wide lawns to use for our morning conditioning sessions.
The purpose of the visit, though, was to scope out a suitable trail run for Sunday afternoon. We came up with a really interesting course that is fun but challenging, gives a choice of gradient for campers, and above all is absolutely beautiful.
There’s a track that follows the stream along the valley bottom, then we go up the steep side of the hill for a short sharp shock, and then a steady gradient for a couple of kilometres to where Pam will be waiting with snacks and smiles.
Then runners will have a choice to retrace their steps back to Baysdale Abbey, or to take a longer loop up the other side of the valley onto Great Hograh Moor. That involves quite a bit of climbing, so we’ll let campers make the decision at the time which route home they fancy.
Yesterday, when we were up on the Moor, we encountered the Hardmoors Rosedale Abbey runners coming the other way. You know it’s proper trail running when the Hardmoors boys and girls come dancing by!
