From April 13th to 20th, ten intrepid Chelmsford City fans will undertake an arduous 250 mile hike from the top of The Great Orme, Llandudno to Chippenham for the final away game of the season.

Why The Great Orme? Well, the plan is to walk the entire length of the Offa’s Dyke Path which straddles England and Wales, but we wanted to make it harder - so why wouldn’t we add on another 30 miles of Welsh granite and bracing coastline!?

The Great Orme is a huge lump of rock, with a cable car up top and stunning natural beauty. We are an ugly, motley crew with little of that, and will forego the cable car to begin at the lighthouse at the far end - then yomp towards Rhyl and the start of the ODP. From there, things take a dark turn as we traverse the Clwydian Range of mountains to Llangollen - crossing under the aqueduct at Pontcysylite, easier to spell than say - before the remote path takes us south through remote hills and valleys. We pass through Montgomery, Hay-on-Wye, storm the battlements at historic Monmouth and Chepstow before the path ends on the border and the banks of The Severn Estuary. A hairy stomp across the bridge then finds us back in England, and a final night in Bath to prepare for the last push to Chippenham.

There’s a fair amount of height in this hike, and for any that remember last year’s Snowdon efforts, you’ll know that it’s a punishing set of challenges - I mean, there’s gonna be rain, isn’t there!!!

This time, as well as Gavin, Ross, Phil, Rich Macey and Connor, were joined by Jasper Harmer, Dave ‘coaches’ Cresswell, Tommy Vickers and Richie Bethell - so that brings the average age down by a fair amount.

All the lads are self funding again, which is a fair amount let me tell you, and we hope to have use of a 12 seater minibus.

If you are able to support our group in any way, we’d love to hear from you. We have literally everything possible to sponsor. Our T-shirts will have on plenty of info and will aim to both entertain and inform, we’ve already secured a bit of sponsorship via Callaway Sykes, those beautiful people, The Orange Tree plus others and all this is to try to hit our BIGGEST TARGET EVER - which is the magic £10,000!

This year, we’re fundraising for three main beneficiaries plus the Supporters Club.

CanalAbility

CanalAbility are an award-winning charity dedicated to providing the facilities for people with a wide range of disabilities, health conditions or anyone experiencing disadvantages, to enjoy boating on the river on their specially adapted canal boats. Founded in 1989 as a ‘not for profit organisation’, CanalAbility rely on grants, donations and sponsorship plus volunteer skippers and crews to operate 3 fully adapted boats and provide respite experiences for 3000 people each year.

Providence Row

PR are a charity formed in 1860 and based close to Liverpool St. They provide housing and benefits, assistance, drug and alcohol treatment, psychotherapy and they train people to save lives during overdoses. They are often a final safety net for people. Although not specifically an Essex-based charity, PR are close to many that travel the A12 corridor to work, play and live so are intrinsically linked to Essex. In a City where many of us reap huge financial reward, socialise and work close to Liverpool St, there is also the underbelly of deprivation, addiction, homelessness and people who’s lives have turned out so much different to many of ours. Jasper, one of our hikers this year making his debut, is a valued member of Providence Row and we’re pleased to be able to support him in this.

Little Edi Foundation

1 in 3 children in the UK are now living in poverty, and more families find themselves in financial hardship. The Little Edi Foundation is based in Melbourne, Chelmsford, and is a locally-based non-profit organisation with children and young people at the heart of it. The foundation creates development opportunities for disadvantaged young people, which may include giving aid such as fresh food, toys, school uniforms and equipment – things we all take for granted. Not everyone is lucky enough to have that support network, so this community foundation on CCFC’s doorstep is doing their bit for local families.

We will also be donating to the SC away travel fund too.