Where your money is going

When I originally came up with the idea of doing the walk I wanted to ensure that all the funds raised in Barney's name would be used in areas that would have tangible results as opposed to just being evaporated away in the day to day running of the charity as is the case with many larger charities.
In response to this Neal Long, Sands Director, has suggested that the Walking 4 Barney funds will be partly used to provide scientific bursaries to assist health professionals and investigators from developing countries to participate in International Stillbirth Alliance Conference.

ISA 2007 will be hosted jointly by Sands and the NHS Perinatal Institute in Birmingham (29th September - 2nd October 2007).
The conference will be a very special meeting to focus on perinatal loss - the human impact, the causes, and the possibilities for prevention. It will be a rare opportunity to bring together researchers, clinicians, health care professionals, bereaved families, and support organisations from many different countries.
Many clinicians and scientists devote much of their working lives to furthering the understanding of adverse pregnancy outcome. And many bereaved parents, knowing the real consequences of baby loss, are committed to improving the care that others who have suffered a loss receive. Both groups have much in common and together can represent a very powerful force for change.
The conference will be run in two parallel streams: scientific and bereavement, and will include joint plenary sessions to discuss the key issues of interest to all. Its main purpose is to gain insights and ideas for future collaborative initiatives to reduce the burden of perinatal death.

The aims will be:

• to present the human consequences of stillbirth and other perinatal loss
• to share information on current activities and research programs
• to strengthen collaboration on initiatives to reduce perinatal death
• to share knowledge and experience of best practice in care when a baby dies
• to encourage networking and informal exchange

We feel this is an extremely good use of the money that has been donated so far and we are sure that as a direct result of Walking 4 Barney a real step forward can be made into the cause and prevention of the loss of babies' lives. We sincerely hope you agree.

THANK YOU

I would like to say a big thank you to all those that, as they say in all good awards ceremonies, “we couldn’t have done it without”.

Dave for not only for completing the walk but for keeping me going through the pain and those points where you just don’t want to carry on, and of course for the company and being able to share the experience of the walk.

Sean for volunteering to join us as his participation means that Microsoft will match the money raised, not to mention his magic tricks and stories on route.

Suzanne for doing a fantastic job of running about in the support car, sorting out the luggage and making sure we had what we needed. Especially getting ahead to the hotels and getting the bath ready!

Jo for the fantastic lunches, rub downs and day to day support

Gaz for his company over the weekend and injection of humour, if not for his addiction to Dextrose and cleaning us out of it!

Kerrie for entertaining the boys over the weekend and for being the bear!

The Boys (Haydn, Rohan and Kieran): for handing out balloons.

Berry for joining us for the last day, well done!

Christoph for being the Bear, which made Huntingdon a success

Clare for you company of the last 5 miles and the extra cash you raised

Dave Hiller for all his help and encouragement during the planning of the walk and his support on a personal level through the past months, also for timely arrive with Margaret on the walk

Helen Stokoe (TfL) for her help in publicising the walk within TfL and general support and advice.

Neal Long & Carolyn Bray of Sands: for their support and assistance.

Katie Duff & Lyn Peters of Sands for organising the media machine.

Finally, a big thank you to everyone that has contributed in any way making this adventure a success.

It's All Over

Hurrah !!!! We made it. It must be said it was hard going at times, but we persevered, and walked through the pain on occasions. The whole event proved to be, certainly for me, as much a mental challenge as a physical one. There were definite highs and lows. Thankfully the lows seemed to coincide with people dropping money in the bucket as we wended our merry way. If any of you anonymous donors get to read this ........ THANK YOU!! Hopefully the traumatised children will grow out of their fear of a 6 foot bear.
Massive thanks too to all those who have given so generously on line.
My own special thanks to the support team. Suzanne and Jo with Kerrie's help over the weekend. Fantastic job. We couldn't have done it without you.
Heartfelt thanks for allowing me to share their great company, and even more awful jokes to Sean, Gaz and Berry.
Biggest praise goes to Martin who has not only single-handedly organised this mammoth undertaking but also completed the physical challenge of it all. I know how much it hurt so WELL DONE MATE!!! Thanks also for actually thinking that a 52 year old overweight unfit old git would be a worthwhile member of your team. We Showed 'em!!! I will leave Martin to add all his thoughts and write the story in his words and add some of the photos we took along the way.
My main solace through all this was a radio plugged in one ear which was a great help through the hard times. To pay homage to this I have selected a few tunes which may help you if you wish to undertake a similar challenge. There are "banging tunes" and 1 slipped disc for each day. Enjoy. Once again thanks to you all.
Day 1
Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush
Living On My Own - Freddie Mercury
Everybody's Gonna Dance Tonight - Paul McCartney
Grace - Simon Webbe
Rainy Night in Georgia - Randy Crawford
Slipped Disc
That Umbrella -ella-ella-ella song by Rianna - Pants!!!!
Day 2
Get This Party Started - Shirley Bassey
Mr Blue Sky - ELO
I Hear You Knocking - Dave Edmonds
Layla - Derek & The Dominoes
You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me - Gladys Knight
Slipped Disc
Still Rianna not heard anything worse today - On and on and on !!
Day 3
Take Me Back Home - Slade
Night To Remember - Shalamar
Big Love - Fleetwood Mac
We Close Our Eyes - Go West
Breathless - Kenny G
Slipped Disc
Daydream Believer - The Monkees Sorry guys wrong time,wrong place......Yuk!!
Day 4
Summer Sun - Texas
Shine - Take That
Roll With It - Oasis
Down Down - Status Quo
Dance With My Father Again - Luther Vandross
Slipped Disc
Anything sung by Lily Allen - just not for me !!!!
Day 5
Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel
All I need Is A Miracle - Mike and The Mechanics
Always The Last To Know - Del Amitri
Don't Feel Like Dancing - Scissor Sisters
Gravity - Embrace
Slipped Disc
Yes Sir I Can Boogie - Baccarra There really is no need !!!!!
Day 6
On The Road Again - Canned Heat
This Old Heart of Mine - Isley Brothers
Come As You are - Beverley Knight
Dock of The Bay - Otis Redding
Time To Say Goodbye - Andrea Boccelli / Sarah Brightman
Slipped Disc
Flash Dance - Irene Cara Welders in leotards and leggings. She should be shot.

Well that's it. If that doesn't get you walking try what I do slam in the old original soundtrack from The Blues Brothers and get on a mission.
Best foot forward now to the bar.
Thanks for reading.

Day 6 - South Mimms to the Finish

A glorious morning greeted us at South Mimms, hope fully this time it will last. Could this really be the last day? A couple of days back we thought it was never going to end, this was it just one more day. After performing foot-aid to my battered toes and packed up the kit left behind by Suzanne due to the lack of space in the car which was to stay here until they returned home tonight. Today was a day with out the girls they were driving down to Suzanne’s friend Natalie’s house in Stoke Newington and would meet up with us at Regents Park for the last few miles.
For the last day on the walk we are joined by Berry Ilunga a colleague of mine from TfL so a fresh face and legs to keep the pace up as today we were on tight schedule to be at certain places at certain times.
Once I had finished messing about with toes and bags I was too late for the complimentary breakfast, thank you to Ann Ward at PTI for her generosity. Luckily Berry and noted the opportunity and made sure my full English didn’t go to waste!
So sun shining we were off the last, Dave in fine form with no ailments, Sean installed into Dave’s 1 ‘wonder’ sandals (with socks!) and Berry raring to go. We all had a new found energy found us off at a good pace. We were due to meet another walker at 1200 at Camden Tube so we had to keep a steady 3 mph pace. After negotiation the M25/A1(M) roundabout we were onto the A1081 towards Barnet, thanks to the heavy traffic the lack of foot path was fine as we could just walk between the all but static cars. Dave spotted a footpath up on the verge which we climbed to take advantage of. However, it doesn’t seem a well used path as it was a maze of brambles and after 5 minutes of untangling ourselves we decided to take our chances with the now moving cars.
To the side of the road we spotted a sign for “Trotters Bottom” a must have photo opportunity. Berry became photographer and duly too the snap followed by the cry of “one more” this words were to be a theme for the day! We seemed to be back in the countryside for a few miles the new saw the “Welcome to Barnet” sign which officially marked the entry to Greater London… the sense of achievement began to sink in we made it to London, although there was still away to go. We stopped for a photo (well two actually “one more”).
After a short walk we were into shops and people again, with so much more going on you certainly don notice the miles pass by and you mind has more to occupy itself than just pain. We had a brief stop in a shop for water which is another advantage of walking along “High Streets”.
Passing through Finchley we had two pieces of encouragement which although only two still picks you up, firstly thanks to our names being on our back we heard a cry of “Go on Dave!” from a guy hanging out of a BT van. And a man sat out side a café enjoying a coffee in the sun gave us an encouraging clap as we passed. Doesn’t sound much but it was appreciated at the time. Due to the much warmer weather we found a bigger need for refreshment, so a couple of stops were needed for water and the odd re-arrange of lacing due to sore toes. The stopping wasn’t helping Berry so he carried on but we soon caught up.
Walking through Highgate I felt my big heal blister that I had carried since day 1 burst and the inevitable burning pain. Luckily in an unusually clever piece of planning on my part had I decided to bring my sandals too. So after a quick change of foot wear the pain was bearable. I had now joined Sean in the fashion faux-pas of socks and sandals. I’ll take back all the jokes of the previous days.
After another pit-stop we found another photo-op a sign showing “C. London 5” You guessed it two pictures later and we were off, but running behind time to get to Camden Tube, so teeth gritted we pushed on. Dave and Sean pulled ahead but a 100 yards for a couple of miles, we managed to catch them up at Camden Tube at 1203 so not too far off schedule.
Here me met Clare Albert who is joining us for the last 5 miles of the walk, Clare who is 5 months pregnant, is the sister in-law of Sarah Davies who lives in Africa. Sarah lost her daughter Jemma in Sept 06 and become a friend of Suzanne’s having found babybarney.org.uk and keep in touch on MSN ever since. Clare wanted to walk in memory of her niece and has so far raised almost £1,000 for Sands. Sarah’s story can be found on http://www.babybarney.org.uk under the “Your Stories” section. Joining Clare was her mum and daughter Sophie (whose pushchair looked very inviting) so ranks swelled to 7 we set off on the last leg.
Having spoken to Suzanne, they were now going to meet us at St James’ Park. Passing Regents Park we were due for a Champagne Reception at Sands who are based in Portland Place. Walking round Park Crescent we were stopped by a lady who having read the t-shirts told us that here daughter had just lost a baby and wanted to get her some help, we passed her the detail of Sands and she’d pass them onto her daughter. The reason for this walk was to raise cash and awareness for Sands and to hopefully with the media coverage get the subject talked about and break the taboo. But by just by giving a telephone number to this lady so they can get help made the walk completely worth it on its own. We all hope her daughter and family get the support they need to get through their tragedy.
Arriving at Sands we were welcomed by Director Neal Long brandishing a bottle of champagne. We stayed for a while enjoying their hospitality and met members of the HO team who all do such a fantastic job. Once the champagne had “evaporated” we were ready for the final walk down the finish in Westminster. We were joined at this stage by Sands staff Emma Hoole and Maria Smith so 9 of us to trek through the crowds down through Regents Street, Piccadilly and into The Mall. The flags were out on The Mall which we can only assume was for us so thanks to HM! On The Mall we were joined by Suzanne, Jo, the boys, Natalie and her daughter Bea making a total of 15 wandering along the Mall in the sunshine. We walked through St James’s Park into Queen Anne Gate. Passing New Scotland Yard, which has changed since Dave’s time there extended security cordon etc. We arrived at TfL’s HQ Windsor House ahead of the originally agreed 1500 so had a sit on the park nearby until the reception committee arrived!
At 1500 we walked around the corner to a rousing welcome from my TfL colleagues led by Dave Hiller my boss and mentor throughout the planning of this walk, I’d have given up on it months ago if not for him. Thank you, Dave.
After a few photos we then completed the walk down to Buckingham Palace Road where my office is based above the Victoria Coach Station. Here we were met by other colleagues and a bottle of bubbly. A few more photos and hand shakes and it was all over.












All that was left was the 150 mile trek home again we certain weren’t about to do a “lap of honour”.
Sean left to get a coach to Bracknell.
Due to the lack of space in the support car I took the boys back on bus to Kings Cross then the train home, which thanks to problems took us a lot longer that expected.
For Suzanne, Dave and Jo it was back to Stoke Newington for the long drive home.


After the elation of finishing the walk, the achievement of so much the anti-climax was over powering.

Day 5 - Stevenage to South Mimms

Another bright dry morning, and maybe after the lack of rain yesterday this could be way forward (don’t you believe it!)
The motorised team were today going to install themselves at Hatfield Galleria shopping centre, for the walkers it should be an more interesting walk through the more populated areas as we near London. Setting off our walk took us into Old Stevenage and it was refreshing to be walking through a High Street with shops and people amuse the senses and make the time move a bit quicker. Heading out of Stevenage into Knebworth we stopped at Tesco’s and got ourselves breakfast Chicken Pasta and a Smoothie, not the usual fry up I know, but due to the can’t be bothered attitude at the Corey’s Mill Beefeater attached to the hotel, we skipped breakfast got underway.
Long hills took us into and out off Knebworth but thanks to there “more going on” we didn’t notice them as much, also passing shops meat it was easy to stock up on Boosts and other snacks! We met the world’s most miserable woman working in a petrol station, whatever happened to service with a smile or even a thank you!
The miles seemed to pass by very quickly and we were soon approaching Welwyn Garden City, on the way in we used a pedestrian subway to negotiate a major roundabout, as with all subways it was covered in graffiti, but this one was spectacular. It was covered in black and white photo-like paintings of people’s faces, amazing piece of work. Most amazingly was that some idiot hadn’t been along a “tagged” all over them with their 2 year old style scribbles. We didn't have the camera on us so I borrowed a few images from the creators.
Emerging from the subway we were met by the inevitable rain but thank fully when Welwyn Garden City was carved out of the woods the tree lined roads leading in gave a great deal of cover so we escaped the worst of the soaking.

As we walked down into the centre of WGC we were amazed when we saw the Parkway. Being a new town we had expected another Bracknell, Milton Keynes or the like. However, this place was more reminiscent of the Palace of Versailles, lovely landscapes area with fountains, planting and pathways a real surprise.
We decided that it was time for a pit-stop for a pint and a bag of crisps (we did the healthy earlier remember!). Not a pub to be scene anywhere, we have since found out that there aren’t any due to the sobriety of the towns designers. This place is full of surprises.
We went into a coffee bar and paid the usual £10 for two coffees and a cookie. Glad of the sit down, we sat pondering the next few miles when outside it seems that monsoon season had hit, the rain was torrential! We made a dash to get under the local shopping centre to take shelter waiting out the worst of it we finally made the journey into Hatfield to meet up with the team at the Galleria complex.
They were in full swing collecting and we had some good support from the centre’s management, thank you Jude. We were able to change shifts in the bear in their surprisingly opulent offices, amazing what you find behind the scenes in these places.
Being a weekday and the horrendous weather outside things were slow but again we had a great response from people and managed to collect the best part of £60.00

Finishing there it was the short hop down to South Mimms where we checked into the Premier Travel Inn. Thinking back to the second night and the stairs we asked if the rooms were on the ground floor, to which the answer was yes, thank god!

Unfortunately what they didn’t tell us was that the hotel is a sprawling place and it seemed like half a mile to the room! A big thank you to Ann Ward the General Manager who kindly provided us with a room each and as before a warm friendly welcome not to mention a collection pot on the counter with and very handy £47.50

The weather had now cleared up and we were looking forward to donning the bear once more and collecting at the Welcome Break Services at South Mimms for the evening. As arranged during the preparation for the walk weeks ago we called the General Manager to let him know we were there, he told us where we could stand and wished us luck. However, we were greeted at the door by a lady who took exception to us being there as “she was in charge of charity collections at the services and knew nothing about it” don’t you just love em! Having told here we had cleared it with the general manger in advance we were greeted with an “a likely story” attitude. She got confirmation from him and agreed we could carry on, however the welcome received put us in such a foul mood we just couldn’t be bothered!
Such a shame that having had such a fantastic experience on the way down and the support we were given by so many organisations and members of the public that just on snotty woman can make you feel like giving up! So we took “welcome break” from the services and adjourned to a pub/restaurant. Into bed to get ready for the last day, was it possible we had travelled 125 miles and were still alive!

Day 4 - St Neots to Stevenage

Waking up in St Neots saw another sunny morning but we’d been tricked by those before! Breakfast saw the obligatory Frankenstein-like walk to the restaurant followed by a Full English fry-up. Unfortunately I missed breakfast as BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Breakfast show was calling(can’t disappoint my public!) The team met up in the hotel car park to sort out the logistics for the day. Being Father’s Day Dave and Gaz were sporting their “Super Dad” badges just he powers required to get us through this long day’s hike.
The motorised part of the team were off to the Extra motorway services at Baldock, the walkers embarked on the first section of the walk, 6 miles along the side of the A1 through Sandy and Beeston before diverting off back into the countryside through small villages on route to join the team at Baldock.
When we started the walk strolling through the country side looking out across the fields of the walk was idyllic, now halfway into day 4 it’s all getting a bit samey! Even though you are walking in a group it still feels quite lonely when you rarely see another car or building.

The collection at the services was going well and as before the popularity of the balloons meant that the walker became blowers on arrival. Throughout the day there was a steady stream of travellers visiting the services and the response we received was fantastic. The bear and balloons were an obvious hit with children, but even for adults they provided a hard to ignore presence. We were all surprised by the generosity of many people especially in an age when everyone is collecting for someone. One thing we noticed was the amount of people who threw change into the bucket then asked what we were collecting for.

Barney Bear was a hit with one little boy called Leo was totally smitten, at one point we thought the bear (with Dave inside) may even end up in the family’s car! Again as with other times during the walk we were approached by other that had too lost a baby or were closely linked with other families. They all agreed with us that we needed to get this message out there which was really heartening and consolidated that this walk was really going to achieve something. In few hours at the Extra services we managed to collect a fantastic £327.77 so a huge thanks to everyone.

After a couple of hours of blowing balloons and “being the bear” the walkers again set off for Baldock town and onto Stevenage. After traversing the LONG hill out of Baldock it was a fairly gentle downhill run (walk) into Stevenage. Walking past the Lister Hospital we had to stop under the hospital sign which I have since digitally gaffiti’d. We arrived at the Premier Travel Inn, Corey’s Mill Lane in Stevenage, and being the only day so far that we finished in the dry we could all relax in the pub garden ready for the evening ordeal of food, and legs locking up!

Gaz and his wife Kerrie were due at work in the following day say had to leave, a big thank you to them both Gaz for his injection of humour and fresh legs and to Kerrie for her help in collecting in Baldock, ‘being the bear’ and keeping the younger members of the team amused, cheers guys!

For me the vision of the walk was watching the ‘super-fit RAF officer’ Gaz hobble back to the car suffering from his 2 day walk through the countryside, had Walking 4 Barney broken the RAF! It made it sink in of what a couple of fat blokes had so far achieved with little training. Not that I am about to challenge Gaz to any form of physical challenge as i'll fail miserably!

Day 3 - Norman Cross to St Neots

Woke in the morning and we were both pretty amazed that the stiff legs of the night before had miraculously sorted themselves out through the night.
Encouraged by this revelation we managed to get down to Breakfast in a much quicker time that the same journey to dinner last night. Whether that was to do with the nights rest or the fact a full English breakfast was waiting we will never know.
Breakfast eaten and fat reserves very much replenished we were then joined by Sean and Suzanne’s brother Gaz. The injection of fresh legs, bad jokes and conversation should hopefully have a positive effect.
The main worry here is the fact that Gaz in an officer in the RAF and having just completed training is extremely fit, especially compared the us! The assumption is that we will watch him “yomp” off into the distance and arrive at the hotel a good couple of hours ahead of us, but the advantage being is he can get the first round in!
Thankfully, the sun was shining with just a bit of cloud about, as we set off on the first leg of the day, a 10 mile stretch of straight road which is the old A1 that runs parallel to the A1(M). The problem with straight roads is that you can see along way ahead! We had set off at a good pace unfortunately after a couple of miles the rain started. Dave, ever prepared, got out his emergency rain poncho, the combination of thin polythene, rain and wind meant an almighty struggle to get it on, much too all our amusement. The girls arrived after a few more miles to feed us and re-stock on drink, and Dextrose sweets (more about those later!) They then went on ahead to prepare for a collection in Huntingdon town centre where we would arrive about 1330.
We had been keeping up a very good pace as we entered The Stukeleys. The sign for the local church had Stukeley spelt using a crucifix as the “t” which made it appear as St Ukelely and as pointed out by Sean made it read “St Ukelele” needless to say the next few minutes were consumed by a myriad of very bad puns and impressions of George Formby!

We arrived into Huntingdon pretty much on schedule where we met Suzanne and Jo blowing up balloons as fast as they could and collecting money. They had been joined but Christoph Borst as colleague of Martin’s from TfL who had kindly offered to come out and help us for the day. Christoph had been persuaded into the bear costume and standing well over 6’ tall made quite an imposing sight, even though out first glimpse of him was sans head which although amusing to us would probably put many kids nearby into years of therapy!
The balloons were going quickly so while we all chipped in to blow more up and attach to sticks Sean with bear in tow went back out on the street to collect. Sean, not be the shyest person in the world then went work on the good people of Huntingdon extracting cash. His technique (closely guarded secret) could best be described as “mugging with a smile”.

The combination of the Bear, Balloons and Sean’s all out assault meant the collection in amongst the fairly regular down pours was very good. After a couple of hours the rain meant we hat to call it a day collecting. A huge thanks to Christoph for taking the time out to help he seemed to enjoy being the bear a bit too much, especially the cuddles with the big girls!
As we walked through the town we came across “Barney’s Plaice” which was probably an omen. However, there lure of a pint of Guinness or Magners in the pub across the road proved to be a bigger pull. We found a nice sofa and got a bit too comfy, but were entertained by Sean and his selection of magic. We had to haul ourselves out of the pub and get moving as we were sill only halfway through the day!
The walk out of Huntingdon (in the pouring rain) took us through for a few miles into the countryside, a guy in a van pulled up and said “I don’t where you are going but you look like you could do with a lift” we explained what we were doing and he drove off, nice though I guess but cash would have been nicer. Soon we entered the wonderfully named villages of Offord Cluny and Offord D’arcy. These very nice “chocolate box” villages with wonderful old buildings unfortunately rattled fairly regularly but the GNER trains on the east coast mainline thundering past at 140mph.

As we wandered on we were met buy a couple walking towards us, and to our amazement they turned out to be Dave and Margaret Hiller (Dave being Martin’s boss at TfL) they had worked out from out online itinerary where we’d be and had parked up a few miles further up and had walked back to meet us, prompting cries of “thank god we didn’t get a taxi!) they had also seemed to bring the sun with them too giving us a chance to dry out. The next couple of miles seemed to fly by and the positive effect of moral support and new conversation really does give you a renewed energy and takes your mind off the pain. Thank you Dave, your timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Even though you could have given us a lift!
We left Dave at Great Paxton and watch enviously has he got in his car and drove off! We were heartened to see a sign stating the St. Neots was only “4 miles” and seemed to be pretty much downhill or flat! The pain in my feet was starting to get unbearable, so I had to resort to the mp3 player and The Stranglers greatest hits loud in the ears, which saw me stomp off into a commanding lead over the other three, even though I was oblivious to the fact until on reaching St Neots I was a considerable distance ahead, the problem then came as I stopped for them to catch up, the feet seemed to spontaneously combust. The problem with the “St Neots 4” sign was psychologically it was 4 miles to the end, what hadn’t sunk in at the time was that the hotel is the other side of the town and consequently a further 3 miles! This mental blow along with a lot of pain all around meant the last hours walk seemed a lifetime just to keep us company the rain threw it down for the last mile. We arrived at the hotel and promptly all headed for the bath of cold water, prepared earlier by Suzanne, you could almost see the steam rise from the water and the feet went in, all noise drowned out by the mixed cries of relief and pain from the four of us! All that was left was to muster for dinner, the obligatory meal, pint and total seize up!

We had a good day and had kept up a blistering pace (as Sean’s feet can confirm) so we were all very happy with the day’s events and pace and somehow I managed to be the first to the bar, not Gaz. A great effort by Suzanne, Jo and Christoph saw them collect over £100 in those few wet hours in Huntingdon.
The major revelation of the day however was that after borrowing Dave’s sandals to go to the bar, Sean discovered that after 20 years of wearing a size 11 he was probably actually a size 13!

Day 2 - Bourne to Norman Cross (Peterborough)

After the best night sleep in years we woke to what sounded like more rain and Bourne being under 6" of water, it wasn’t too heartening listening to the cars sloshing through the puddles but after a fabulous breakfast (thank you to Shirley at the Dormy House) we set off in bright sunshine.
Dave's thighs were a bit tight and Martin's feet suffering due to some rogue grit in the socks the day before. So much for “1000 mile guaranteed blister free socks!”. After a quick visit to Boots for a few remedies we trudged off in the sun down the A15 to Peterborough.
After a few miles we stopped to rest (today’s plan was to walk for an hour or so and rest for 10 mins). However, it got increasingly difficult to get going again each time. We sat on a wall of a Ford Dealers (Mears) to rearrange boots etc. We were then greeted by owner who gave us a donation and offered us a drink. So, first tea break after 60 mins in true English workman style!
Wandering down the edge of the A15 through Langtoft listening to the radio we were then rudely interrupted by almighty honk of a truck. After picking ourselves up out of the ditch we were greeted by an HGV driver brandishing cash, in his haste to get over to the truck which was holding up the traffic, Martin's dash across the road was nearly cut short by the Hearse coming in the other direction!
After 8 miles or so we arrived in Market Deeping, where we were met by Suzanne and Jo brandishing lunch. Once fully refuelled of we set again, still in sunshine, on our way to Peterborough.
On route Martin spotted a strategically place wall for a re-lace of the boots, when Dave noticed in the distance the town of Glinton, just a mile to a mile and a half away. So we carried on to Glinton in the hope of finding a pub where we can get sorted in the company of a pint of Guinness! Passing through the town we spotted on the road ahead the Crown Pub… this sight gave us the momentum required to get up the small hill to get there. We reached the pub only to find it derelict! There must be another pub round the corner… 2 miles later we finally wandered in to the Crab & Winkle for the best tasting pint ever!

An hour or so later we arrived at Peterborough Station where we were due to meet up with the girls in the car, however, thanks to some amazing piece of idiocy by someone Peterborough has two A15’s, not helpful when following directions! After a wait at the station we started to get cold and the rain started, so we told the girls to head to the hotel, and we’d be there in 3 hours or so. It was a very long 3 hours seemingly all uphill, we arrived at the Premier Travel Inn A1(M) Junc.16 in Norman Cross after 1900. The feet were really on fire by now!

The Girls had checked-in for us so we could go straight to the room (via the challenge of a staircase!) and get the feet in a cold bath of water… aaaaah, the relief!

On the way into the Hotel we were met by John Scott who handed us £264.00 in cash that he’d collected from staff and guests at the hotel, which was the day’s real morale booster.

That evening we tucked into a great meal in the hotel restaurant accompanied by a few pints. Having just talked Dave out of pudding we asked for the bill only to find that they had donated that too! Only problem now was during the meal we had stiffened up and those stairs now looked like Everest’s big brother! Needless to say heads hit pillow and we were out for the count! Still another 50,000 + steps covered! 50 miles down 100 to go!

Huge thanks to Sarah Strain, John and all the PTI staff a credit to PTI and Whitbread.

Day 1 - Carlton Scroop to Bourne, Lincs

We woke to be greeted by a nice steady downpour, not the best start. After hanging around, to see if the crowds might amass for the start of our epic adventure, at St Nicholas’ church we finally got underway at 0910 as we trekked off in the rain. Lovely!

Unfortunately Sean was unable to join us for the start of the walk as his son Dylan was taken to hospital the previous day; he hopes to join us this evening.

After 6 miles passing through Honington, Barkston & Belton we arrive in Grantham on schedule at 1100 the rain stopped and we were able to shed the coats and cool down a bit, brief pit-stop in Sainsbury’s and we were ready for the challenge of the dreaded 1.5miles of Somerby Hill, we steadily trudged up it and thereby conquered the first real mental obstacle.
On reaching the top Martin was then live on BBC Radio Lincolnshire with Martin Daniels, son of Paul, but the traffic and wind meant he couldn't be heard, so taking refuge in the car in a pub car park the interview was completed with all the salient points and a chance to rest the legs at 11 miles.
We set off fully expecting to find pubs strategically placed along the route so we could stop for a drink and a bag of crisps.

Unfortunately, in the villages in Lincolnshire the idea of 24hr licensing hasn't taken off. We ended up doing a 4hour/12 mile stint along the A151 which with no path, no verge and national speed limit (60/70mph) was very scary. We seemed to be getting way too close to the traffic; nobody seems to move out or even slow down! This walk was going to be a real mental challenge as opposed to the physical challenge we had been expecting. Those 12 miles drained us mentally and physically. However, two events on that stretch did raise the morale.

Walking along near Corby Glenn, a guy pulled out in front of us, drove on for a distance then stopped, he then got out walked back at a great rate staring at the road, as though something had fallen off his car, then came across the road and cash in hand said "anyone walking through this god forsaken place deserves some cash, here's some shrapnel..." then promptly got in his car an drove off. Leaving us a little shocked! A couple of miles further on a lady, with her two daughters, stopped in her car and said she'd heard us on the radio and came out to find us, then put a good amount of change into the bucket.
Thank you !

Luckily Suzanne and Jo arrived at Grimsthorpe Castle just in time for a pit-stop, refresh of drinks, dextrose sweets and sesame seed biscuits (which we are still finding stuck to our teeth!).


We finally arrived in Bourne and the Dormy House Hotel at 1810, feet feeling as though they were on fire but certainly happy with our achievement. Checking the pedometers Martin’s read an impressive 52,805 of which 51,090 registered as aerobic exercise over 448 minutes! This is more than we had probably done in the last 10 years. Dave’s pedometer read 47,550 which is 5,255 steps less than Martin’s I guess that’s the advantage of being 6’2”

After doing a follow up interview with Lincs FM from the previous it was time to get food and a beer! We found the Nag's Head in Bourne which met the aforementioned criteria. After speaking to Martin's parents it turns out they have friends Norman & Jean living in Bourne. Jean popped down to see us, which was nice, and we had a good chat. They are "well known" in the Nags Head! Jean left us to finish our excellent meal and for us to hobble back to the hotel. When we got to the bar to settle we found there was no bill to settle! Thank you Jean & the Nag’s Head, such kindness is a real morale booster and with the feel burning and legs tightening up, it helps.
Time for bed!

Sands - Guidelines for Professionals

Today Suzanne and I attended the launch conference of the new Sands "Guidelines for Professionals" regarding Pregnancy Loss and the Death of a Baby. Held at the Royal College of Physician in London. The conference was mainly aimed at healthcare professionals along with bereaved parents. The new Sands guidelines are a major leap forward from the old guidelines and will make a fantastic positive change in the way families going through the loss of a baby are treated and more importantly understood. The authors have really produced an brilliant piece of work.

As part of the launch we were all treated to a performance of "I Hate This" the one man play written and performed by David Hansen. The play re-enacts from when David and his wife Toni learn at her 30 week check-up that their unborn child has died. Jumping back and forth between two timelines, David tells the story of the 36 hours between learning this truth and the birth of their first child, as well as the year that follows - detailing the frustration, recrimination, guilt, sorrow and ultimate acceptance of their son's death. David plays over a dozen different characters, including friends and family members who cannot express their feelings, medical practitioners (both compassionate and not) as well as himself, learning to cope with his anger and helplessness in the midst of grief, as well as fashioning a new way of looking at life.

I could identify with every part of the play, and arts were scarily like looking in a mirror. It is a truly fabulous work of art and needs to be seen by anyone related with the loss of a baby. We were especially glad to see it performed in front of the doctors, midwifes and students and to watch their reactions. After the conference we had a nice chat with David and Toni, it was nice for me to see other Dads feel like I do and I think more to need to come out and speak about to help themselves and others, this is one thing I want to get across during the publicity we receive during the walk. For more about David, Toni and the play...click here

A Few Final Thoughts

Well, that's enough thinking about training for one day. The smoke alarm's gone off so I guess the food is nearly ready. Just a couple of final thoughts before the event. I have been asked what I hope to walk away from this with. That's basically it. I just hope to be able to still walk away.
On a purely personal level, it would be good, I suppose, to finish with bunions smaller than Victoria Beckham's.
Finally just between you and me, and I won't let on to the others, if you've had a look at the route and know a short cut. let me know. Just our little secret. Ta
Best foot forward.

Hello again. Just a brief update, as I am now thinking about getting into a rigourous training regime, and there isn't a moment to lose. Despite this, I have had some time to ponder the coming days, and must say I have raised some slight concerns.
1.) Those of you paying any sort of attention will recall that I managed to unearth my trusty size 13s a few days ago. Luckily for me I did so in the nick of time. I discovered they were more like a size 12 and pinched like a demented crab on speed. This resulted in a mad dash to Lincoln on Saturday, to acquire a pair of the aforementioned trusty size 13s, which seem to be, on a Saturday afternoon, very adept at assuming the scarcity of dinosaur poo. Anyway it all turned out well, and already I have clocked up almost 2 miles in the new ones so they are virtually broken in.
2) Most intrepid types, setting off on a trek, have a team of huskies, or native bearers, or similar, to ease the burden along the way. As we seem to be sadly deficient in this area I have come up with a scheme to lighten my load. I shall attempt the journey with the aid of only 2 pairs of pants. Day 1 - Fresh Day 2 -Inside out Day 3 - Commando Repeat this cycle for Days 4-6. Sorted.
3 My final concern is over the potential recurrence of an embarrassing skin complaint in a sensitive area caused by chafing. I refer to my delicate buttock cleavage. At the last flare up I sought a homeopathic remedy and was advised to pack the area with used tea leaves. On my return to the practitioner he examined the area and was a little dismayed that it did not seem to be fully healed. On the plus side though he was able to tell me that I would go on a long journey and meet a tall dark stranger. So if that's you, and you're reading this, I looking forward to our rendezvous on the walk.
Must dash ,as I have to get back to thinking about training before dinner.
Best foot forward.