Walk Story, part 2

People and Faces

I hope it is clear that what made the trip so special was the kindness of people I met en route. Many of them won’t read this because they don’t know about this site, but I would like to acknowledge them nevertheless. You will quickly notice when reading some of these comments that food played a huge part in this walk. That is the joy of walking. You can eat and enjoy as much of whatever you like. In fact, this is probably the best insight into the walk – for those who may be interested… 

Joyce & Ella Maddison   My friends in Durham who looked after me fantastically the night before I left, and cooked me a full English breakfast in the morning.

David & Leila Anderson  My ex-neighbours in Durham who I saw at Mass just before I left to start the walk and who invited me back for lunch.

Linda and husband         Met on first day on Hadrian’s wall. As experienced walkers, they gave me lots of advice, including the comment which stayed with me for the rest of the walk, that any food eaten on the hills doesn’t count and that therefore it was fine to drip-feed myself with Kit Kats throughout!

Hadrian's Wall

Jane & Kate                  They treated me to a lovely pub meal because they couldn’t bear to think of me eating only soup, which was all I had money for.

People at The Swan       Pub in Heddon-on-the-Wall. They let me pitch my tent behind the pub car park – what a classy location.

Christo & Jeroen Motz    Christo and his son Jeroen are from Holland and, of course, speak perfect English! I learnt all sorts from Christo about survival skills, and enjoyed walking with them for the most scenic part of the Hadrian’s Wall Walk, then we combined our efforts to cook a camping supper, and breakfast before I left the next day to go North on the Pennine way. I have since seen Christo again when he came to London one weekend – there are some advantages to living in London after all.

Man with white hair        Despite giving me a bit of a shock as he came panting up a hill in the middle of a dark forest, hair all over the place, this man saved me from getting terribly lost on the Pennine Way since I had no map and he described the route I should take that day to get to my destination for the night. I learnt then to always have a 1:25,000 OS map of my route!

Demesne Farm              In Bellingham. Instead of charging me for a night’s camping, they asked me to donate what I would have paid them to the charities.

Couple at Youth Hostel   In Byrness. They gave me advice when I was getting really nervous about walking in the hills alone in the mist.

Andy & Margaret            Site wardens at Jedburgh Camping & Caravanning Club site. They dried my boots and warmed my sleeping bag for me when I turned up late at night, exhausted and in pain.

Brenda, husband & their friend   

Invited me in to their plush motor home despite my extremely dirty and smelly state on that night I arrived in Jedburgh, and fed me roast chicken because they felt so sorry for me cooking a cup-a-soup in the dark on my tiny Trangia stove.

David Burry                   Met David for the first time in Jedburgh. He made my day when he gave me a spare malt loaf he had. Malt loaf, staple diet of all rowers, and a much-underestimated food. I have to admit I ate two thirds of it in one go (recommended serving is one eighth - ooops). He then came up to Brora a few weeks later, as I say in the report. As well as making sure I didn’t starve, especially when he treated me to the most amazing fish and chips followed by a humungous meringue, he gave me lots of advice on walking and kept me company for two days.

Mr. & Mrs. Murdoch       Ian Murdoch and his wife must be in their mid seventies, and only ten years previously had walked the whole Land’s End to John o’Groats walk. I felt ashamed to be doing less than half the distance they did, considering I’m 23 and not in my sixties as they were then. But they did point out that they stayed in B&Bs, which they classed as cheating. I still felt humbled talking to them, they said I had made their day - they had made mine too! As well as sponsoring me Mr. Murdoch gave me the loop bit of a key-ring (it was in his pocket) as a memento.

Jacqueline                     Warden at Broadmeadows Youth Hostel. Drove me to the town (it was one of Scotland’s rustic hostels in the middle of nowhere) to get some food for the evening, and did my washing in a proper machine despite the fact there were some very smelly socks in there (tip: never wear Compeed blister plasters when it’s wet as they dissolve, stick to socks and stink terribly).

Dave & Peter                 They laughed at my failed attempts to make mushroom flavoured mashed potato with cup-a-soup and Smash (dried potato for those who haven’t experienced the wide array of reconstituted food on the market), then explained the chemistry behind why it hadn’t worked and had turned out to have lumps of dried potato in it, and made me a fried egg sandwich for breakfast.

Adrian Denyer                Someone who carries peanut butter and Marmite whilst walking has got to be worth speaking to. We walked together for a couple of days along the bonnie, midgy banks of Loch Lomond and enjoyed pooling our resources at mealtimes – somehow someone else’s rations are always more interesting than your own. Adrian had lots of interesting stories to tell about working with people like Médecin Sans Frontières, who I hope also to work for once I qualify as a nurse. Sadly blisters got the better of him and not even an aspiring nurse can do much for that other than prescribe rest, which he did and left me to carry on ahead. 

John, Ross & Colin        I thought these three blokes from Glasgow were tough and manly when I first met them, but no. They may have walked 25 miles that day, but thereafter they fell prey to the temptations of baggage couriers who take your bags in the morning to that night’s destination, thus leaving you free of burdens. Adrian and I mocked them for their weakness, but they didn’t really care and took every opportunity to retaliate, mercilessly refusing to take my bag even for a few minutes to ease the pain in my shoulders. But I met them every evening along the West Highland Way and was sorry to leave them at the end of it. They were good, Scottish entertainment despite their cruelty.   

Christine Trotta              I admired Christine for walking with almost 20kg. She carried 4 litres of water compared to my 1 litre, and two bath towels as opposed to my tiny travel towel, which is more like a J-Cloth. We survived a night in a raging storm, pitched on boggy ground and surrounded by mountains. After that ordeal and with more rain and high winds forecast we spent the next night in a little log cabin and attempted to get our kit dry. Christine is German, so I also managed to dredge up my German, which I do far too seldom. Of course, she speaks great English, but she enjoyed speaking German and it was good for me. 

Murray                          Accompanied me on what was possibly my wettest day of walking, jumping through streams and climbing The Devil’s Staircase. Oh yes, and he gave me tea and cake. But he was a wimp at heart and got on the bus the next morning because he didn’t fancy another wet walk.

My Mum                       Ok, I didn’t meet her on the walk as such, but she deserves a mention! Not only did she send me maps at regular intervals, she included a bar of chocolate with every parcel – she knows me far too well!

John & Friend                Biker boys. I had always been scared of motorcyclists but these guys were very kind and changed my prejudices. I no longer curse bikers when they roar past loudly or queue dodge in traffic jams. Well, not for too long anyway.

The stagecoach people  Anyone who gives me cake deserves a special mention.

Sue and Colin                Ran the B&B in Forsinard. They gave me a lovely 3-course meal and refused to let me pay for it. It was such a treat sleeping in a proper bed, especially since I had walked 25 miles (40km) that day. 

The couple who took my photo at Dunnet Head

I just think the cyclical nature of meeting people from Durham at the end of my journey is amazing. Also their reaction to how far I had walked was amusing, and was enhanced by their Geordie accent.  

The walk was successful and enjoyable because of the people I met on it. Of course I enjoyed the time spent in stunning scenery, the time to think and the exhilaration of getting to a new destination each night knowing I had walked every step of the way, but I would have been lonely (and extremely hungry) on many occasions if I hadn’t come across such kindness, generosity and companionship.

Sometimes I found it difficult to motivate myself to continue, when my feet were sore from too much walking on tarmac and my shoulders were ruined by the constant weight of the bag. At these times it was good to be able to think of why I wanted to complete the walk – so that I could raise the profile of The Tarahumara Mission and Macmillan Cancer Relief, and even raise some money. Along my way many people asked me why I was doing the walk, and kindly sponsored me.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone; complete strangers, friends and family who sponsored me and all who showed an interest in the work of both charities.   

Thank you

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