Great Ormond Street Hospital charity walk

The Final Update!

Well, it’s done. I’m sitting in the office, fully recovered, and thinking how far away Cornwall seems. The JustGiving page says we’ve raised £2,200 so far – yes, you can still donate: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/martinswalk

Was it worth it? The sunstroke, the sore feet, the crocked ankle (it seems I may have walked a week or so on a fracture), the endless uphill mountains of Cornwall and Devon, jumping on grass verges to avoid drivers who really can’t see a yellow high-visibilty jacket, spending three nights in different Travelodges… of course it was worth it! But rather than tell you all about the highs and lows, I’d like to share a few images from the walk:

 

 

This is where it began. The wind was howling, there was some rain (it was late June after all), and it feels like such a long time ago…

 

 

At this point I began to count the miles. 5 done, 295 to go. This should be easy. Big mistake….

 

 

Sometimes a shortcut just doesn’t work out.       But when you see this, who cares?

 

 

 

The Somme memorial, very humbling. It gives a lot of perspective.

 

 

 

As one door closes… another one opens.

 

 

 

OK, is one of these legs swollen?

 

 

 

The end… for now 🙂

 

 

I hope these few images give you an insight into the walk. Thank you to those who sponsored, and sent messages of encouragement. Looking back I can’t believe it’s all over. It was worth it.

 

 

At the end of April June I intend to walk from Land’s End to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. It’s a little over 300 miles, and the aim is to complete this in less than a week. Please make it worthwhile by donating to the Great Ormond Street Hospital charity.

Why choose to walk from Land’s End? Well, it’s a nice place to start, you see some lovely views, and most of all it’s a very worthwhile cause so please sponsor me. Why walk? Because I can…  I’m no marathon runner, I don’t want to spend 24 hours in a bath full of beans, and there’s absolutely no chance of me managing a whole day without speaking! There’s another aspect though – I want people to donate to GOSH and the bigger the challenge for me, the more I hope they’ll pay. It’s got to be worth it to see me suffer, after all 😉

Great Ormond Street Hospital is a great charity, working to make a difference to those who need it more than most. Looking at children with life-threatening illnesses makes you realise that life really is too short. So instead of trying to make our own lives that much better, we should all consider the lives of those who can’t make their lives better. My aim in taking up this challenge is twofold – firstly, to raise money for a great cause; secondly, I hope this will encourage others to do the same. We can all make a small difference individually; together we can make a big difference.

At the end of this I will still be the same person – a few weeks older, with sore feet; but Great Ormond Street will hopefully benefit.