AND SO, IT’S FAREWELL AT LAST…

WHITE HORSE WALKERS READY TO DEPART FROM WESTBOURNE

SPECTACULAR CUILLINS IN SKYE

THE BACK WAY TO BEN NEVIS

BREAKFAST IN THE PEAK DISTRICT

OLIVER WITH GRANDMA SHEILA

...but only to my diary entries on this blog. It was just over a year ago that I set off from Southampton on my JOGLE venture. I have benefited greatly from it; not just from the experiences of the walk itself, which I hope I have already conveyed, but also from the kind messages received through my website. 

I have been pleased to accept many invitations to talk to local groups about my adventure, resulting in further significant donations to the charities. Preparation for such talks has been a sizeable task in itself. I took over 1,600 pictures and spent many hours filtering these down into a manageable number. How does one possibly condense 3 months of walking into 45 minutes.

The final amount collected for the charities is £8,312. The addition of Gift-Aid will raise the figure to around £9,000. Whilst short of my £10,000 target, the amount collected is still substantial and I thank all those who have donated so generously. 

In addition to this, the White Horse Walk referred to in my last diary entry was a great success. Nearly 40 people took part in the event, 8 of them walking the full 100km route. The princely sum of £4,902 was raised for Macmillan Cancer Support, greatly exceeding my £3,000 target. I have agreed to organise a repeat of the event next year.

The past year has been hard work, but exceedingly rewarding. However, the best reward of all was the recent birth of my second Grandchild, Oliver, to son David and his partner Lisa. Added to this, first Grandchild Isaac, to whom this site was co-dedicated (along with my Dad, Phil), is now walking!!! Perhaps his rapid progress was aided by having my diary read to him? As some of the attached photos show, I have been keeping up the practice myself. 

A final thank you to all those who have shown interest in my adventure and this diary. If it has inspired you to undertake something similar then I would be delighted to hear about it.