I would like to thank everyone for their sponsorship and am incredibly grateful for all the donations and support received. Everyone’s generosity and support has really been incredible. So thank you all for the contributions. Very much appreciated.

When I was trying to decide an amount to raise, I thought £1000 would be realistic and thought I would probably end up raising a little over that. I was secretly hoping to reach about £1250 and would have been happy with that. It would have allowed the East Anglian Air Ambulance to buy one Covid safe kit bag, they need 20.

It’s still not really sunk in, what I achieved on Thursday. It was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’d like to share a quote with you from Lachlan Morton, a pro cyclist who is a big inspiration to me. This quote kept me going on Thursday:

“It’s about putting yourself in difficult situations often enough that they’re no longer difficult.”

A few figures from the day:

Distance walked: 90.43km/56.19miles

Moving time: 15:07:01

Elapsed time (includes breaks): 17:07:27

Elevation gain: 554m

Calories burnt: 8778

Average speed: 6kph/3.72mph

Fastest km walked at: 7.94kph/4.93mph

Blisters: 0

Socks worn: 8 pairs (I was wearing two pairs at a time)

Times lost: 2 – both times the footpath wasn’t clear and
ended up walking the wrong side of hedges, which I ended up climbing through.

Longest walk in preparation to this one: 27.38km/17.01miles

Consumed on the day:

Food:

6x homemade panforte bars

5x Outdoor Provisions parkin energy bars

1x bacon and egg baguette

1x cream cheese and strawberry jam baguette

1x banana

2 x pizzas

2x pork pies

100g porridge with a banana and dried fruit

Liquids:

5.5L water plus Skratch Labs hydration mix

3L water

2x cups of tea

2x protein shakes

1x pint of ginger beer – I would have loved a proper beer
but would have been fatal!

Thank you very much again for your support and donations.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In early February I had a major bike crash that resulted in a trip to A & E and a weekend in hospital. It was the second time my mum had picked me up off the side of the road and to take me in. I had landed hard on my head, sustaining a neck injury and was in serious pain. I count myself very lucky that it wasn't more serious. Sat on the side of the road waiting for mum to arrive seemed to last hours. I should have really called for an ambulance instead. 

With twelve weeks off the bike, eight of which were spent in a neck brace, I was limited in what I could do. During my recovery I starting walking again, exploring the network of footpaths out of Woodbridge, rediscovering my love for walking. 

Back in late July, I half jokingly discussed walking from Woodbridge to Norwich with one of my close friends. After that first conversation, the more I started thinking about it, the more seriously I took it and it grew into a serious plan. Having spent time pondering over maps, I started piecing together a route. Initially I was going to walk it just to challenge myself, but decided I wanted to use it as a opportunity to raise funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.

Why did I chose the East Anglian Air Ambulance? My cycling doesn't always follow larger roads, most of the time I enjoy exploring rural back lanes, bridleways and byways. In this situation, if the worst was to happen vehicular access is limited or not possible. Additionally from a farming family, I occasionally hear about agricultural accidents. These sometimes happen in inaccessible locations and having access to East Anglian Air Ambulance could make all the difference. I hope I don't, or anyone I know ever needs to use their service, but believe it is vital to support them just in case.

Why the £1000 target? The East Anglian Air Ambulance crew need new Covid-19 safe kit bags and they're going to cost £1000 each. I'm not going to try to explain, but rather please have a look at:

https://www.eaaa.org.uk/sponsor-our-kit

The final route is a total of 83.8km, following the vast network of footpaths, bridleways and back lanes between Woodbridge and Norwich. I will be walking this on Thursday the 17th of September and  am going to walk it in a single day. The plan is to leave Woodbridge in the early hours (4am), and hopefully around sixteen hours later arrive in Norwich! 

I planned the route using OS explorer maps and Komoot. It can be found here: 

https://www.komoot.com/tour/243893088