So here we go then; welcome everyone to my first ever Blog!!!  But what's it all about, I hear you say? A very good question, if I may say so! Well, some of you may be aware that it was my 60th birthday recently - I know, I've kept it pretty low key, but the message may have got out!! 

Anyway, before I slip into senility and spend my salad days dressed in a nice onesie, slumped on a couch and watching Countdown and Bargain Hunt every afternoon, I wanted to try and tick a few more items off of the 'Kilby Bucket List'!! Now, one of the items on that list is the subject of this blog. Over a couple of weeks at the back end of April next year, myself and a few like-minded idiots are intending to complete Wainwright's famous Coast to Coast Walk. A 200 mile trek across the northern part of England, from St. Bees in Cumbria on the Irish Sea coast, to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire, on the North Sea coast.

The route, famously designed by Alfred Wainwright as recently as 1973, passes through some of the most beautiful countryside in the UK including 3 National Parks, namely the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorks Moors. But, at an average of around 14 miles a day, every day, for two weeks, over some fairly challenging terrain, this won't be any 'Walk in the Park', so to speak. Especially for a man of my advanced years!!

But why put myself through the undoubted pain of this mighty challenge? Some reckon that it's my penance for being one of those nasty bankers all my life and ruining the economy!!!   But no, that's not it. The truth is, early last year, Tim Horan (one of my best pals and a co-walker on the trek), mentioned that his son David was planning to hike up Mount Kilimanjaro AND did I fancy going too??! Well, I have to say, that the prospect of clambering up a 20,000 ft mountain didn't really float my boat - seeing as I can feel a bit woozy up a ladder, I didn't really think that me and extreme altitude were likely to get along!!!

However, it got me thinking that I was up for a challenge of some sort, although ideally, nearer sea-level!! So, the Coast to Coast walk was born and off we trot at the back end of April. At the same time, I thought that this was a great opportunity to raise some funds for a small, but very worthy charity called Little Hearts Matter and for those of you who haven't had a chance to visit my Just Giving page as yet, please feel free to check it out on www.justgiving.com/Paul-Kilby1. So that's the background and for now, it's down to serious training, but I really hope you have the time to visit this blog from time to time (particularly once the walk has started) and see how the feet are holding out and what epic adventures and scrapes we all get into!!!