Steep

 Take the steep path up to the castle, leave the town centre behind and walk up the climbing road until there is the signpost pointing out the shortest route on foot to the castle. This is a brick-paved pathway that goes almost straight up the hillside on which the castle is situated. It is steep and has ridges made of brick every half metre or so to provide grip when it rains and snows. 

The weather is neither providing rain nor snow today, the path is just steep with it's uncomfortable ridges. There is a seriously overweight couple farther down the path who are making a considerable speed. They are young, and maybe not so short of breath. The path takes a turn, and the final steep stretch is ahead. The breath is coming in gasps now, the heart beating furiously. This is as bad as a the bicycle at the doctors. Take only short breaks and reach the part of this path where there are steps. These steps lead through old fortifications and other small buildings until finally, there is the lawn in front of the castle, and the car park for those authorised to drive all the way up. Sit on a wall, breathing heavily until the body recovers from the strain.

Stay there for quite a while. and then move on. It appears as if the overweight couple have given up, or maybe they are sitting on a park bench half way up.

The pedometer on the mobile 'phone says that these are the first nine hundred metres. It feels like so much more.