The best way to contact Peter Gatenby is by email peter@thesharpcorners.co.uk or Tel: 07974 925484 he lives at Dove Cottage, Henton, Wells Somerset BA5 1PD or you can go to his facebook page www.facebook.com/petergatenby for up to date pictures and comments.
The Walker Peter Gatenby has gained much experience from his previous jouney to the “Four corners of his known world!” on how to set up a “long” walk and ensure he reaches his final destination. (See www.theextremities.co.uk) It is not just a question of being reasonably fit and healthy but 50% is maintaining a positive mindset. There is no need to worry about how you are going to cope day after day just walk each day at your own speed treating the completion of each section as progress towards the whole. “It is the old conundrum of ‘How do you eat Elephants’. The answer is one piece at a time.” If you start on day one, soley focused on the concern of how on earth are you going to walk 3000 miles, you will be rather depressed when at the end of the day you still have 2,986 miles still to go. Turn it on its head. The target today is to walk say 16 miles. The rule is to walk at least half before you stop for lunch so that is 8 miles then you may decide to stop for elevenses after 4 or 5 miles depending on where you may come across a convenient benchseat, War Memorial, concrete mounting steps or if you are very lucky even a cafe. By the time you have then just focused on walking across the piece of map you have folded in front of you, you will have stopped worrying about the huge task of 3,000 miles and be happily taking pictures and admiring the beautiful countryside all around you. Yes on day six say, you may be moaning about blisters, the fact that it raining again, and have you missed the foothpath that will cut a corner? Well never mind, the sun will come out eventually and you will probably complain then you are too hot or even getting sunburnt.
It is better travel hopefully than to arrive, but when you do arrive after a quick shower and a nice cup of tea and a piece of freshly prepare Victoria sponge, you’ll be chiding yourself for making a fuss because the hill seems to be higher than shown on the map and the endless steps up and down were hidden under the sign for a golf course. The point is, this nice landlady is offering you a fiver towards the charities you are collecting for and will be mentioning it to all her friends. Then to your amazement you realise your paths crossed 37 years ealier {No its true, this did happen} In short why go off to far flung places across the pond, when most people have not explored what is near their own home, and when it comes to the next county; we’ll that is a foreign land.
If you want to join this three score and ten plus, young man on any days walk please do. {Tel: 07974 925484 peter@gaten.by } Just remember they are linear walks and he has his B&B already booked. He may be walking for charity but it does allow him to take a sabatical from being Churchwarden; Secretary of the Village Hall; and Chairman & Treasurer of The Mill Stream Villages Association, not to mention the websites he has set up for these, that need constant updating; his regular working at Gatenby Services, his son and daughter-in-law’s Tourism and IT business and not to be forgotten are the 8 grandchildren; some of whom I hope will be walking with him on some of the walks, now they are all old enough to spell their own names.
As for the 3 Novels, 2 are written and the third has temporarily taking a back seat as it is very time consuming doing all the reasearch, particularly when you are trying to ensure all the B&B’s are booked and in the right order!