Sunday December 27, 2009 - Hike minus 1 day. Em was the first to arrive at Danielle's house in Preston, followed by Emily. Terry arrived not long afterwards to pick up the extra kit. Having gone to the bus station to meet those coming up from Ashford, Danielle then arrived home with Seb, Bea, Zach, Graham, Pip, CJ, Alex and Jake. It was wonderful to finally meet everyone, for us all to be together for the first time. Whist getting to know each other, we ordered out for a late supper of fried chicken. We all began settling for the night around midnight. It was late, VERY late, well after 2:00 am before many of us got any sleep at all. Monday December 28, 2009 - Hike day 2! Alarm clocks sounded at 5:30 am and the house slowly came to life. We left at 6:30 am for the two mile walk to Preston railway station, arriving just before 7:00 am. Having been told of a platform change for our 7:14 am train to Carlisle, we made our way onto the awaiting train. As we all settled into our seats, we discovered it was in fact the wrong train. Getting back onto the platform, we saw the correct one leaving the station. What a start!
Em and Seb explained the situation to a member of station staff, including everything about the charity. Our tickets had been for that particular train, but arrangements where made for us to travel on the next train to Carlisle that would leave at 7:52 am. While we waited for the train, everyone was getting VERY excited. We just wanted to be on our way. Having arrived at Carlisle, we got into two taxi cabs for the fifteen mile journey to Bowness-on-Solway. After finding our way to the gateway marking the beginning of the Hadrian's Wall Path, we finally began the hike at 10:30 am.
The weather was okay, very cold, but dry. Conditions underfoot, for the first two miles of the day at least, were horrendous. The ground was almost completely covered in ice and it wasn't long before Seb was the first to take a tumble, shortly followed by many of the others; notably Em, who's confidence suffered as she fell a number of times.
Lunch was taken after around four miles alongside the Solway Firth. As the light began to fade, we still had around three miles to go, a lot of that was across fields and farmland. At one point we were stopped in our tracks by a ram, who stood completely still on the pathway. We diverted round him and continued on our way to the West View camp site in Grinsdale. We arrived at around 5:30 pm, greeted at the gate by Terry. Having set up the tents in the snow-covered field we had supper. We where all in "bed" by 9:00 pm. Tuesday December 29, 2009 - Hike day 2! Day two dawned with everyone's alarms sounding, at 7:00 am, along with Terry arriving back at camp, having spent the night in his nice warm cottage. He's staying at the half way point, so he's in easy reach of all the the RV points, and all of us.
What goes up, must come down, so we packed up the camp. Terry cooked a hot breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages and baked beans. This itself followed cereal. We would be well fed on this trip!
We very carefully and strategically repacked the car, how we got everything in is a miracle. We then had our first full group photos taken, as the camp site owner wanted one of us all too. He then showed us a more direct route across his land, back onto the Hadrian's Wall Path, which was more than a mile away by road. We began the day's hike at 10:30 am. One of the highlights of the day, indeed of the entire hike, happened shortly after we set out. Having found our route down a stairway completely covered in ice, and primarily for safety reasons, of course; we decided to do some free style sledging. That is, sledging without sledges, just our butts, down the slope. The ride down the steps gave a great adrenaline rush, and was repeated again shortly afterwards, for the same reason. Anyone who passed us by would greet us with a "hello", or "good afternoon" etc; drivers who we passed by would wave a greeting too. These simple acts, gave us all a boost, and are a lesson for us all. A smile costs nothing and can make someone's day. Lunch, after completing eight miles, was around 2:30 pm, in a rain storm. As with each day of the hike, we would be hiking well into the night. Having only completed 12 miles on day 1, we would do 17 today. Although we didn't see the Wall itself today, we walked along a two meter wide ridge in a field that covered the remains of the Wall. We arrived at the farm, where we would set up camp for the night, around 6:45 pm. Just after arriving, the rain became torrential. We all worked together, to get all the tents up as quickly as possible. Seb, Terry and Alex rigged a tarpaulin to the back of the car and cooked supper for everyone under this. Everyone else was sheltering in their tents. It was gone midnight when Terry left us in the grip of the storm to head back to the cottage. Wednesday December 30, 2009 - Hike day 3! When he arrived back at the camp site, Terry told us that though the weather was bad where we were, it was even worse where we were heading. Neither Em nor CJ went out on the 14 mile hike today, they both needed to rest injuries that had flared up on day 2. Instead they helped dry all the kit at the cottage that had got soaked during the rain storm. During the day Terry collected Bea as she was suffering too. We had supper tonight in the Twice Brewed pub, next to the cottage Terry was staying in. It was great sitting all together in the bar. The eight hikers who finished the day got wind burned and a little snow burned too. They had hiked into a blizzard this afternoon. They saw part of the Wall today and all said it had been a great day. We stayed tonight in a heated "camping barn" which was in fact a 12 bed dormitory. The owners of the barn, Bill and Iona, have said that we can stay there tomorrow night, and maybe Friday too. Thursday December 31, 2009. New Year's Eve - Hike day 4! We woke this morning as Terry arrived at the barn at 7:00 am, telling us on arrival that there had been another four inches of snow overnight. Emily and Em helped Terry cook breakfast in the barn's kitchen; cereal, toast, bacon, sausage and scrambled eggs, all washed down with OJ and hot chocolate. After having the now obligatory group photo in front of the barn, this time with the HELP for HEROES banner, we set off on today's miles, without Bea. However both Em and CJ where with us once again. When we set off, it was dry and sunny, with no wind. It wasn't long before many of us took at least one layer of clothing off. As we got to the top of one of the hills, nearing the Wall, the snow began to fall again. It would continue on and off throughout the day.
We were met after two miles, by Terry, for his only time on the hike with us. As we crossed another field, the Wall loomed large in front of us. It was an awesome, snow-covered monument to almost two thousand years of history. What was to follow would be an exercise in mountaineering, as we scaled the steep face of the Wall; the snow making it an even greater challenge. On the other side of the hill Terry took some photos as everyone, with the exception of Em, made their way down the slope. Em made her way down, more dramatically than she'd intended... Tumbling through the air, somersaulting head over heels. The whole fall, a double somersault with half twist, only lasted a matter of seconds. She'd come to a stop near to Pip, who helped her turn and sit up. She was okay, thankfully. Immediately, Terry said "I wish I'd filmed that!". Seb, on the other hand, was more thoughtful. He had seen how lucky she was, as she'd been no more than six inches from a huge boulder. His first thought was "We'll need an air ambulance for her." We then had a photo call in front of a tree that stands above the tallest surviving part of the Wall structure. Lunch today was eaten mid blizzard. Almost an inch of snow fell on us in that fifteen minute break. At that point, we'd only covered five miles. The route today was over many hills. With the heavy snow fall, this meant that we were frequently hiking through thigh-deep snow. The extra effort needed meant that it was a very demanding day, physically. It was a hell of a lot of fun too! The views we saw were breathtakingly beautiful and many photographs where taken. Approaching the village that would be our finishing point this evening, it began snowing heavily again. As we drove back to the camping barn, Terry outlined our New Years Eve evening; our meal would be special, with a few surprises too. We planned to go down to the local bar, just before midnight, to see in the New Year and decade, with the locals. Em also said that she would share with everyone the verses she'd composed before we began the hike. During the evening she composed another verse too, inspired by the day's events. Thanks to power failure at the barn it was almost 11:00 pm by the time we ate the main course of pasta and meatballs, followed by dessert of trifle, profiteroles and fruit salad. In the event, we didn't make it down to the pub. As midnight approached, we all counted down the last few seconds of 2009. Shortly after we had welcomed both the New Year and decade, Em shared all four verses with everyone. Friday January 1, 2010. New Years Day - Hike day 5! There had been more snow overnight, another four or five inches. Today's hike would be a lot flatter than the last few days, but we would still face snowdrifts of two foot deep in places, and a few hills too. Once again, Bea missed the day's hike, which we began the hike at 11:00. Our first meal break at 12:15 pm was once again mid blizzard. We made quicker progress today and got to the half way point within 3 hours. A lot of the Path was along or parallel to, roads so this helped quicken our progress. Having finished the hike at Headdon on the Wall, we waited for Terry to pick us up. While we waited, we were invited into the bar in the village. Saturday January 2, 2010 - Hike day 6! Today would be our longest day of hiking, a gruelling 18 miles, reduced from 20, having completed an extra 2 miles yesterday. Despite the long day ahead, we were in no real rush to leave, as we would be staying somewhere around Newcastle-upon-Tyne tonight, before beginning our homeward journey early on Sunday morning. Having eaten a hearty breakfast, we made sure we had everything packed up. Terry would take us back to Headdon-on-the-Wall, before returning to collect everything. He would then meet us at the finish point in Wallsend.
During the journey to Headdon, Terry made a few calls, putting his phone on loud speaker, so we could all thank various sponsors. He also called a radio station, who wanted to speak to Seb live on air at some point today. We began the day's hike just after 11:30 am. Given that we've been averaging only two miles an hour so far this week, we predicted a finish time of between 9:00 and 9:30 pm, allowing for meal breaks.
Today's route is entirely along the "Hadrian's Cycleway", which is part of the National Cycle Network in the UK; in this area, it doubles as the "Hadrian's Wall Path" along which we are hiking. Walking on the cycleway is harder than across country. There was quite a lot of snow on the ground, so it made it a little softer than it would otherwise have been. Having completed around two miles we take a break; yet again, we eat in the midst of a snow storm. This has been the worst weather that the area has seen in more than 20 years. As we approach Newcastle-upon-Tyne the Path follows along the banks of the river Tyne. Then, with little more than two miles to go we leave the banks of the Tyne and turn inland and head, finally, towards Wallsend. We all wonder how much further we have to go, as we pass under an archway saying "Hadrian's Cycleway". We continue on a little further before Danielle enquires at a house how far we have left... We don't. That's it. We've finished! It's just after 8:00 pm now. We cross the street to get to the Hadrian's Road Metro station, from where we will catch a train back into Newcastle. Having got off the first train, at Monument Station we need to change platforms. Going down the stairs, we are all in pain; our bodies have already gotten used to not moving and our leg muscles are protesting. Arriving at Newcastle Central railway station, we head immediately to Burger King for our celebratory meal. It tastes so good! None of us can believe that we don't have to hike any more. It is all finished! Terry meets us outside the station. We go out to him and he congratulates us all. After Terry makes a few calls we get into taxis and head a few miles outside the city center, to the brother of a client of Terry's, who has very kindly said we can stay there for the night. Terry comes with us too. Seb and the others from Ashford are getting their bus home at 6:45 am in the morning so taxis are booked for us for 5:30 am and alarms set for 5:00 am. Em's train home doesn't leave until 8:58 am and Emily and Dani's is 9:10 am to Carlisle. They are driving back to Preston from there. Most of those who are going back to Ashford say they will stay awake and sleep on the bus on the way home. We shall see... Sunday January 3, 2010 - It's over, home time! In the event, it's only Zach who doesn't sleep. What the mind wants doesn't make much difference when the body is exhausted. Getting up, we are all aching and moving is difficult.
As most of the others are already in the taxis, Seb realizes, in horror, that Jake is still asleep! To his credit, Jake is up immediately and we don't lose any time.
We arrive back at Newcastle Central railway station just before 6:00 am. The bus stop is just outside the station. We all sit on top of our bags, or indeed our sleeping bags and wait for the bus. We have a 45 minute wait, and the phrase "we could have had more sleep" is mentioned more than once, as we try and stay warm. This is by far the longest we've sat still in the open all week. As the bus arrives Danielle, Emily and Em hug the others and say goodbye. We all got through the week together and some close friendships have been formed. We've shared an amazing experience. Lets not forget that CJ is still only 14 and Alex and Jake 15 years old. What they have achieved at such a tender age is incredible. Congratulations everyone. We did it!
BRILLIANT NEWS!!!! We found out today that David Rosenberg, the Managing Director of SBE (one of the UK's top phone repair companies) has pledged to make a donation by sponsoring the hike with £2,000! We really appreciate this! There will be a photo on Monday!
Things continue to go very well. On Saturday a group of us will be fund-raising again in Ashford high street. Whilst we are fund-raising Kent Messenger will be sending some Photographers to take pictures of us which they will then put in the local paper along with an article. We have also had a story about the hike printed in the Nottingham Trent paper. We have also been receiving alot of Key Sponsorship pledges. 17.12.2009
We have manages to secure some camp-sites free of charge for all participants. Some of them have showers and toilets! Luxury! 10.12.2009
Yesterday, Me, Jake, Bea, Zach and CJ went into Ashford high street and raised £384 in 2 hours just by shaking buckets at people! Yeah! :D As a group we have now raised about £4000 :D Keep going! :D
Travel is booked!!! :D
Things are going well. We are making quick progress with more people joining the event, lots of people donating and more and more people taking intrest every day!
(For Participants) I need aplication forms in by the 30th November. By puttin an application form in, it lets me know who is definately coming. This means I know numbers which I need to know soon.
Also, please send me a photo of yourself that you would like me to use on the 'Patricipants' page of this website. :D
Happy Fundraising, and remember to try to get the project publicity with local papers, radio, businesses and so on. Remember to try to get as many business to sponsor you as you can! :D
And if your not doing the hike, please sponsor us! Go to the 'Sponsor Us or Donate' page to find out how!
