John o’Groats to Land’s End (JOGLE) Walker Completes 1200 Mile Charity Walk

Added: (Sat Oct 24 2009)

Pressbox (Press Release) - THE WANDERER RETURNS

Hampshire resident and keen walker, Steve Hughes, has completed his epic 1,200 walk for charity from John o’Groats to Land’s End (JOGLE). He has raised almost £6,000, towards his target of £10,000, to be shared between the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Cancer Research UK. He will continue his fund-raising activities, however, including talks to interested groups, to try to reach the target by Christmas.

Steve arrived at the finishing post at Land’s End at 6.50am on 9th October whilst talking, live on air, on BBC Radio Solent’s Julian Clegg Show. He returned later at noon for a ceremonial arrival, where he was greeted by a small group of friends and supporters.

During his radio interview, Steve talked about the high and low points of his three month walk. The highlights included his birthday in August, which he spent walking in the Pennines, enjoying spectacular views and ending the day sleeping next to a waterfall. Another highlight was walking in remote parts of Scotland, where he could go for days without meeting another person, and specifically, climbing Ben Lawers. Fortunately, there were few low points, but Ben Lawers also provided the most memorable, when Steve developed a shin splint on his descent and had to walk the next 200 miles in pain. Steve said, however, that his abiding memory of the walk will be the overwhelming generosity and kindness of strangers; from donations of money, overnight accommodation (ranging from a barn to a proper bedroom!) and occasional offers of free meals, all of which he gratefully accepted.

The story of Steve’s walk, including the pre-walk planning and his en route blog, can be found on his website: www.steveslongwalk.org, where details of how donations can continue to be made, may also be found.