Spent the weekend in Somerset catching up with some friends and spending time with my lovely, mad, mud-magnet of a dog...Buster. I only had time to squeeze in one good walk with Buster and Pat (my long suffering friend who I usually drag along). We were joined by another friend and his 11 year old daughter, who had never visited the beautiful, fairy-grotto like walk that is Velvet Bottom. A former lead mining site this shallow valley runs from Chaterhouse to the top of Cheddar Gorge and is a bunny haven. Due to the 100's of long-eared residents the grass is so closely cropped one almost bounces along the route. At the end of the valley the walker has the choice to turn left, to a path that leads up the South Side of the Gorge or to cross the road, and walk up Black Rock Gate to the North side of the Gorge. Both spectacular. We turned right and followed the path to the wooded nature trail which was a covered in a green blanket of spring fresh wild garlic. In the reserve the walker again has a choice of traversing the step steps and walking in a horseshoe or following the lower path. A bubbling stream flows through crumbling brick features as this area was once owned by Bristol Water and remnants of its industrial past can still be seen - now being reclaimed by nature. A wagtail joined us along the path for a while, dipping and skipping over the water and catkins hung from the trees, blowing gently in the wind. It was actually very peaceful and mystical. The route isn't long but has enough variety to keep even young and slightly unwilling walkers amused. I love ambling here as it is such a beautiful place and can accommodate almost anyone. The first section, from the road and along the valley could even be considered for those requiring wheelchair access.

After two hours we retired to the local for a relaxing and enjoyable meal and I found myself fretting about the lack of 'serious' walking. But then I stopped myself. We had just spent a couple of hours enjoying some great scenery, sharing some useful information and history with an enquiring mind and having a good time. Who cares if it wasn't over miles and miles of terrain - it was fun. And my Achilles heal and hips were telling me it was enough.

To be honest, the heal thing and the hip ache has really been worrying me and so today I made what I consider to be an investment in my future - certainly my walking future. I made use of our on sight private physio for an assessment. The prognosis was good and bad. The good part is that it's not arthritis (which does run in the family) but the bad part is that I have seriously overstretched the calf, have an inflamed Achilles tendon and a general muscle imbalance - partly caused by my previous ankle break, bad posture and general physical makeup. But more good news - most of it can be rectified - but it's going to take time. I had some ultra-sound, some painful massage and was shown a number of stretches that I need to follow daily for the next couple of weeks. Apparently I can swim and cycle as much as I like but to keep the walking down to low-grade a max of 6 or 7 miles - no 20 milers for a few weeks and on soft terrain - so no concrete paths and tarmac for me! It also seems that the problem has been exaggerated by the fact that I haven't been stretching properly either before a good long walk or after. Apparently I should be including at least 10-15 minutes of stretching into my routine after very, very long outings and should be getting into the practise of stretching after all walks. I wonder if any of you out there have encountered other injuries through not stretching or if you have any tips on how to build these into the average walk. Think I'll feel a bit daft standing in the car park doing 'my thing' when everybody else is heading for the pub! So, the bottom line is that if I want to have a good walking future, if I want to be able to tackle Ben Nevis in September and then go on to take some more advanced training I need to take care of myself now, work towards correcting my posture and muscle strength and listen to my body.

Now...where's the pack of frozen peas and hot water bottle - time to follow instructions for a change.

All for now.

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