<p>With my son's - Jack - company and support I managed to complete the walk. It took a couple of long weekends, but aside from having to find somewhere to camp when both the Hay-on-Wye and Monmouth festivals were taking place, the walking was great. And to cap it all we were met by Helen and Connie at the finish near Chepstow. Amazingly, I don't think the experience has completely put Jack off walking with me, so I hope to do some more fund raising with him in the future. Many, many thanks for all your support and donations. It's been unbelievable and a tremendous source of encouragement and motivation. Very worthwhile doing :-)</p> <p>-----------------</p> <p>Have made good progress and managed to get as far as <a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&amp;source=s_q&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=pandy&amp;sll=51.52158,-3.21595&amp;sspn=0.011923,0.037658&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=&amp;hnear=Pandy&amp;t=h&amp;ll=52.030528,-3.424988&amp;spn=1.238624,3.8974&amp;z=9&amp;iwloc=A">Pandy</a> end of May Bank holiday. The section from Knighton to Pandy was absolutely wonderful walking. Unfortunately, didn't see much of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hergest_Ridge">Hergest Ridge</a> as I was rather damp and in cloud at the time. But <a href="http://www.walkingbritain.co.uk/walks/walks/walk_b/3342/">Hatterall Ridge</a>, south of Hay-on-Wye, was one of the best day's walking I've done. A further long weekend should see me finished the final leg to Chepstow <br /><br /></p> <p>Joe</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>-----------------------------------</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ok, there are lots of reasons why I probably shouldn't do this. Most of my friends and family think I must be going through some kind of mid-life crisis. But ever since I started hiking as a boy, I've wanted to walk Offa's Dyke. I still do a bit of walking but I haven't done any long distance backpacking for well over 20 years. And whilst the mind is willing, the body, knees especially, is creaking somewhat. <a href="http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/offasdyke/">The National Trail web site</a> recommends taking a couple of weeks to walk it's 177 mile length, and that would be the sensible thing to do wouldn't it. However, I'm aiming to do it in 9 days sleeping only in a tent. So, on the afternoon of Friday 9th April I'll be taking the train from Cardiff up to Prestatyn, getting my feet wet in Liverpool Bay and taking a stroll to do the same in the River Severn at Chepstow on the 18th April.<br /><br />As challenging as I think this walk is likely to be, I'm also very aware of how fortunate I am to have the time and energy to be able to do it. The care that hospices like St Catherine's give people is just absolutely fantastic. They help those with not as much time and energy to make the most of their lives. That is why I'd like to raise funds for them through doing this walk. Any sponsorship you could offer would be greatly appreciated, please give whatever you can.<br /><br />Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving &ndash; they&rsquo;ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they&rsquo;ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it&rsquo;s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>