344 MILES RUNNING, SWIMMING AND ALSO KAYAKING
It’s a holiday for Angela and dog Jack who also did a bit of bog snorkelling
A FORMER international athlete took a holiday with a difference – she spent five weeks running 160 miles, kayaking another 100 miles, and then swimming 84 miles along the River Wye.
Angela Jones embarked on the unplanned adventure along the fifthlongest river in the UK with the bare minimum, along with her dog Jack.
The spontaneous 32-day trip saw her sleep under the stars in the forest, swim where the Rivers Wye and Severn meet, and even stop off to take part in the World Bog Snorkelling championships with Jack.
Angela, 51, from Usk, said: “I have always been an outdoor adventurer so this year I thought ‘I want to do the Wye’.
“I have travelled the Wye before and I think it is the best place in the world – it runs in my veins.
“I packed up on the Wednesday and then I headed out on the Friday.”
The epic trip saw Angela run to the source of the Wye from the Hafen Forest, kayak 100 miles down the Wye, with Jack sitting on the front the whole way, run 160 miles back to the source of the Wye from Chepstow to the Cambrian Mountains, and then swim 84 miles down the Wye.
For Angela the trip was a busman’s holiday, as she owns the outdoor fitness and adventure business Run-wild with the River Wye and Valley as her “office”.
Despite travelling light, and without any GPS guidance, Angela said the trip didn’t frighten her.
The former international triathlete and open water swimmer said: “I have just got that sort of personality. People always ask am I scared? No. “What’s scary to me is being in the city with lots of people, but out in the fresh air with wildlife is beautiful. It is just the way I live my life.” Another common question Angela said she was asked is what food she lived off. Angela said: “I had mainly tins of tuna, rice pudding, and dry dog food for Jack, and then other things I would forage for.
“When you’re out there things like that aren’t as important.”
One highlight of the trip for Angela was when the World Bog Snorkelling Championship organisers allowed her and Jack to compete in the swamp race – the first time a dog has ever taken part.
Angela hoped her trip would inspire others to do the same.
Angela said: “We are never too old to experience the great outdoors and fitness should go hand-in-hand with enjoyment. If you make it fun you don’t realise you’re fit.”
Angela’s company Run-wild provides adventure weekends, wild camping, swimming, kayaking and outdoor fitness classes.