Spent the last four days of the challenge at The Larmer Tree Festival on the Dorset/Wiltshire border. We volunteer every year and this time around I worked as Stage Crew on the main stage. This involved meeting and greeting the bands and helping them set up on stage. I clocked up an average of 16 thousand steps a day carrying guitars and pushing heavy amps up and down the stage ramp during my four, four and half hour shifts. I also had to collect various bits of equipment and tools from different stages around the site. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable active weekend with a few ales thrown in for good measure.

I have enjoyed being part of the Journey On Team, but honestly feel that it did not provide me with enough of a challenge. Maybe I should have volunteered to walk 20 thousand steps a day! Walking has always been part of my daily routine since I moved to the area in 2000 and I have always preferred to walk than catch the bus or jump in a car. I have been a walking ambassador for a number of years and regularly encourage my colleagues and friends to leave their desks behind at lunchtimes and take a walk. The physical and mental health benefits are really tangible.

I was surprised to discover at my medical that I had lost 3lbs in weight and approximately 11/2 inches off my waist. I can only think that the challenge subconsciously spurred me on to increase my step count. Looks like I may fit into my wedding suit after all!

Volunteered as a steward for the Brighton Carnival on Sunday. It was great opportunity to do something community spirited, increase my step count and socialise with a different group of people. The carnival route was fairly short, but I spent the majority of the day on my feet was therefore really reluctant to walk home at the end of the day. With a little bit of encouragement and a pint of cider I finally made it home though.

Myself and Elfie arranged a group walk to/from the Jugs in Kingston on Thursday night. A group of us took the bus from Churchill Square to Lewes prison. A couple of our party had not used the buses for a number of years and appeared a little anxious. I had to reassure my friend John (Stimpy) that members of the public don’t bite and it was OK to sit next to strangers! The bus took sometime because it was rush our, but we arrived at approximately 6:30pm. We walked up and over the A27 and escaped the hum of the road as we entered the tranquillity of downs. It’s amazing how quickly the road disappears behind the trees and shrubs and the view from the top is largely just open uninterrupted countryside. The path dips down a residential road before curving all the way down into Kingston and the Jugs pub. Ate a lovely meal and my Brother treated me to a slab of ‘Lumpy Bumpy’. It was awesome, but I fear the wedding suit may not fit anymore unless I reduce my dessert intake. The sun was setting as we walked back and provided a beautiful backdrop for our walking party who appeared a little weary.

I would certainly recommend a walk like this for a summer evening. Trips like this don’t just have to happen at weekends at this time of year when the evenings are so long. So get out there and walk people!

After last weeks exploits I took the foot off the pedal for a few days. Sat on a train all day returning from Cornwall and hailed a cab home. Naughty! Couldn’t face walking 3 thousand steps with a heavily laden rucksack. Only registered 6 and 7 thousand steps on Thursday, but made up for this on Friday with a 6 thousand step return trip to visit a client and an 8 thousand step run on the beach. Only put my pedometer on at lunchtime on Saturday, but clocked up nearly 12 thousand steps walking around the shops looking for a wedding suit on Saturday. It seems that the pedometer could not cope with all this shopping and is no longer working. I think it took offence to the lime green suit a tried on in the laines (only joking Elfie) The cogs and springs are hanging out! I’ve obviously walked it to death. I am now using an unauthorised pedometer. Are there rules against this? I can assure you that I haven’t tampered with it, hard baked it or covered it in glue.

Our week in Cornwall around St Ives and Penzanze has been just what we needed to inject some real meat into our walking, half way through the challenge! On Monday our steps were down - as we spent most of the day on the train getting across the South Coast of England via the cheapest route available! However we soon made up for it over the following days. Our first couple of nights we camped near the Minack Theatre in Porthcurno (fantastic outdoor theatre carved into rock face!) walking the coastal paths and racking up around 24,000 steps a day! The scenery was awesome, with amazing azure seas and white sandy beaches, we found it hard to believe we were really in England!

On Wednesday we packed up our tent and caught the bus to the beautiful little village of Zennor. Once there we discovered the place we planned to camp was completely full of media students from Truro and there was no room at the inn! We were at a bit of a lost, as we'd planned to pitch our tent, and then spend the day walking. As luck would have it we bumped into a local farmer who was happy for us to use a corner of his field to pop up our tent. So with our bed of the night all sorted we set off to explore the coast from Zennor to Pendeen - which was a pretty tough walk - not helped by the fact that we didn't pack enough water for what turned out to be a blooming hot day! This was our best days walking yet though - a whopping 29,721 - maybe we can start a Steps Bank and take next week off!!

We had fantastic weather for the rest of the week and settled into a routine of leisurely breakfasts, local bus rides along the coast and great walks, followed by an evening in the local pub - The Tinners Arms - which gets 10/10 for food, beer and atmosphere. The great thing about doing all those extra steps is that we could enjoy the beers and tasty chocolate desserts without the guilt!

Across the week our average steps per day was 21,800 (Elfie) and 23,300 (Jonny - who ran around and took lots of photos!) and we both feel great, slightly sunburnt and with only the hint of blisters between us!

If you're looking for a holiday with a bit of a difference, then we'd definitely recommend a walking holiday in Cornwall, or anywhere in England for that matter. You get to see things you wouldn't spot in car (grey seals, a cuckoo, chit chats, 4 foxes to name but a few), you feel really connected to the landscape, there's a low enviromental impact and you get to see some of the most beautiful parts of England which you can't reach any other way. So go on dig out your walking boots and get to it!