The last day !! We are joined more Conservatives as Thalia Openshaw from Newark joins us, also my father Tony who is Councillor for Blackbrook Ward who joins us for the third time on the walk. In addition we are also joined by the Conservative Party Chief Whip; Rt. Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP. Patrick and I discuss the political climate and also the boundary changes affecting both his and my constituencies. As we walk down into Bamford we are walking the boundary between our two areas.

Today is a short day and as we walk into Hope our pace quickens as we near the finish line. Emma and I decide we will run the last 100 yards and we duly do so and run across the line together. Job Done !!

We then go into Hope show where we are greeted by fellow Councillor Tony Favell before going to meet the Glossop Mountain Rescue team who have a stand at the show. Its good to see them again as they were great company the previous day. Emma has been given certain challenges to do in order to get extra sponsor money, one of which is to pose on a vehicle. The team lift her on to the bonnet of their Landover where she hams it up for the camera. I notice many of the male members scrabbling for their mobile phone cameras. As I say to her she will be on more screen savers in the High Peak she knows. (The team also helped her fulfil another challenge on Saturday when she was picture being carried by a team of men).

After a walk round Hope show where we meet many well wishers, we are picked up and taken home so that Emma can catch her flight back to Brussels. They do not have the August Bank holiday, so as well as being grateful to Emma for taking part, I am also grateful to her boss Roger Helmer MEP for allowing her time off to come over.

So the walk is done, the weather held and all we need to do now is to get all the money in. Watch this space for an announcement as to how much we raised for each charity. The whole thing was a great experience, we met some fantastic people, marvelled at our fantastic countryside, had an awful lot of fun, and we know we will have raised an appreciable sum for the Charities which are; Blythe House Hospice, Buxton for Youth and Glossop Mountain Rescue. Emma McClarkin was walking for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. 

We meet up with the Glossop Mountain Rescue Team in Old Glossop. This means passing the new Manor Park Gates that I have spent almost 2 years working to have put in. I think they look great.

The Mountain Rescue team take us up the Doctors Gate footpath to the summit, which is a lot safer than the road. The scenery yet again is stunning and the Mountain Rescue Team regale us with tales of rescues they have performed over the years. When we reach the summit, they were going to turn back, but when they heard that we would probably be stopping at the Snake Inn, they carried walking with us. We stopped briefly at the pub for a drink (non alcoholic), before dropping down into Ladybower. As we walk along the road we see a farmer, who immediately recognises us. After a brief chat, we soldier on and on and on. The Snake Pass is always longer than I think when I drive it, and it is no different when you walk it. After several hours walking we see the reservoir open out in front of us and soon we trudge wearily into the Yorkshire Bridge Inn, our overnight halt. The Inn is packed with people and we sit outside for a while to rest our aching feet. Today has been the longest and hardest day, but we now know that we are almost there with just a short stroll into Hope to do tomorrow. We are joined later in the bar by my fellow Councillor and Deputy Leader of High Peak Borough Council, Tony Ashton, his wife Pam and my own wife Jayne. As I say to them, we both feel semi elated as the finish is in sight.   

Patricia Ash of Blythe House Hospice who wishes us well sees us off. Again we start with a hill, out of Hayfield to Chunal before dropping into Glossop. Not an easy road to walk along. For some reason I drink a lot more water this morning, can’t understand it ! We arrive into Glossop bang on time (after more blister plasters), where we are met by Members of Glossop Mountain Rescue. Also several friends also join us to walk the rest of the day. We set of down the main street before heading up to Hadfield, Padfield and Tintwistle. Unbeknown to me, Emma is a fan of the League of Gentlemen, so a detour into the centre of ‘Royston Vasey’ is deemed a must. We call in for coffee at the Royston Vasey Café where Emma insists on a picture.

Today is a huge contrast to yesterday as we are walking through towns more than open country. We drop down Dinting Vale and up through Gamesley before finishing at the Brentwood guesthouse, where High Peaks Mayor, Jean Wharmby has donated our accommodation. Emma insists on watching the Rugby League Cup Final followed by the rugby union international. I can get a look in with the remote control to find out how Buxton and Manchester City have gone on. In the evening we go into Glossop to eat. We raise a glass to the fact that we are over halfway, but we know tomorrow is the longest day

As we walk up Long Hill I do a live interview with High Peak Radio and after telling them where we are cars begin to blow their horns as we pass. Then suddenly a car pulls up and hands us a £10 note saying that he had heard it no the radio and wanted to donate – the power of radio ! We can’t believe the weather – it is beautiful. As we drop down into the Goyt Valley the scenery is stunning. For someone like myself who has grown up with it, it is easy to take it for granted, Emma’s camera snaps away as each bend brings a different scene. Again we are walking a lot quicker than we imagined, so we take a breather by the side of the reservoir before heading into Whaley Bridge where we grab a sandwich. We then apply our first blister plasters of the walk !

As we walk through Furness Vale, the traffic thunders past us, reminding both of us of the need for something to deal with this problem. More cars hoot and toot as they pass. We then walk through New Mills before arriving, ahead of schedule again ! at the Royal Hotel in Hayfield. Like the Leewood, the Royal have also agreed to donate our accommodation. The heat has made us both extremely thirsty ! I will say no more, suffice it to add that several friend joined us in the evening for something to eat, and a good night was had by all ! – I think

The High Peak Hike starts here. I will put a daily pic on the blog and a daily commentary

Arrival at Hope to set off on the long trek. The first big hill of the hike is Winnats Pass, probably the steepest of the whole hike. Emma is insistent that we buy some Kendal Mint Cake – apparently it is what Edmund Hilary took up Everest, “so if its good enough fir him, its good enough for us” she says. As we start to walk up Winnats we are joined by a small flock of sheep that seem to insist on keeping us company all the way to the top, although they do seem to be frightened of the camera. We reach the top of Barmoor Clough in double quick time, so we decide to grab a bacon sandwich. The man sees our t-shirts and refuses to take any money and insists on giving us two bottles of water each.

On arrival into Buxton, we call in to look around the Buxton for Youth project – one of the charities. We leave to go to meet David Coleman, The Chief Constable. David is doing a similar project, and as he says in his speech, his walk is longer, but as we replying a good-hearted exchange, ours is on consecutive days. This is the only day that our walks cross so its good to meet up and share some mutual encouragement. W wishes him well and give him a bottle of Rockhead water from Buxton. (Rockhead have donated as much water as we can drink in small clip on flasks. Following that we go to the opening of Justice, a new Fair Trade shop in Buxton.

The first day is over, and we collapse into the armchairs in the bar at the Leewood who have generously donated rooms for the night

7AM - At last the new gates are on at Manor Park. After hours of work and planning the promise has been met and I am delighted. An early morning trip to check the new gates out, and whilst I suppose I am biased, I think they look fabulous. The official opening will be in a couple of weeks but people can now see that the gates are there after 30 years of waiting. I suppose we could paraphrase Skinner & Baddiel with '30 years of hurt, new park gates still gleaming!'