It’s official! I’m walking the Pennine Way!
I’ve set up a fund-raising page and booked a campsite for my first night on the trail so I guess it’s actually happening!!
This summer I am fulfilling a dream to hike the Pennine Way from Edale to Kirk Yetholm. It covers 268 miles along the spine of Britain, from Derbyshire to just across the Scottish border, with around 12000m of ascent. Along the way I’ll pass through 9 counties, carrying my ‘home’ in my backpack.
I previously walked the first 100 miles of the route in 2022 so I do have some idea of what I’m letting myself in for, but of course three weeks walking is very different to six days! I could have started where I left off last time, but that’s not my style, so I’m in for the whole distance this time around.
I’ll be camping every night along the way (mostly at campsites but with a few wild camps too) so I will be carrying everything I need with me, apart from some dehydrated meals and maps (and maybe a clean pair of socks or pants!) which I will send ahead and collect as I go.
It will (I hope!) be a great adventure but more importantly I hope it will also help to raise lots of money for Cancer Research UK, in memory of Mike Lycett, who some of you will remember from classes in Iden Green or Kilndown.
Most of us will have some contact with cancer in our lifetimes, either through personal experience of the disease or through family, friends or colleagues going through their own experience.
Some of us will be fortunate enough (& very grateful) to still be able to take on challenges like walking the Pennine Way after our treatment. But sadly, some are less fortunate, which is why we need to keep supporting research into cancer and its treatment.
Whilst I get to live out my dream, I am keenly aware that Mike, who is so very deeply missed by his family and friends, didn’t get the chance to live out all of his dreams. So this one is for him. I hope I will do him proud – I’ll certainly try.
If you are able to support me by making a donation and/or by sharing my JustGiving page so others can see it, I would be very, very grateful. It would mean the world to me to hit my target* in Mike’s name. I set off in late July and it would be a really great motivation to know I’ve hit my initial target before I go…
[*I’ve started with a hopefully achievable target but actually have another number in my head so please donate what you can and share with everyone you know – thank you!]
I’ll be adding updates to my fund-raising page in the coming weeks (and while I’m on the trail) so check back every so often to see how things are going.
Finally, I’ve already had some entertaining questions about trail logistics – no I won’t be wearing paper pants and burning them 😉 Please let me know if you have a Pennine Way related question that you’d like me to answer and I’ll maybe write a whole Q&A post…
Jx