Finish on a High (7 Kingdoms Postponed)

The 7 Kingdoms Challenge will not start next week and will not be completed as planned this summer.

On Friday 20th March 54 children and 9 adults completed the 7 Kingdoms (Isle of Man leg), walking 10 miles from Peel to Douglas or half this distance across the IOM. They showed great team spirit and, for many, it was the furthest they have ever walked in one day. A huge achievement, well done to everyone who took part.

Thank you to the staff who accompanied and supported the walk and thank you to Steven from Hospice Isle of Man who came to meet us at the start and saw the children embark on the challenge.

We were blessed with fantastic weather all day and everyone who set out on the challenge completed it.

At the end of their walk, the children were informed that the school would be closed for the final week of the term with their lessons and activities moving online in light of recent COVID19 changes. This was met with a range of emotions from the children; some excited, some nervous, some upset and some happy.

I am incredibly pleased to have been able to finish on a high with the children and also for myself.

The 7 Kingdoms Challenge will not go ahead this summer as planned.

There is a huge amount of uncertainty in the world at the moment and it feels irresponsible to set off on a long distance walk through many cities/towns/villages around Britain. Even though I will be in isolation for large parts of the walk, I don't know whether I will be able to resupply/restock/wash clothes/get a shower etc. I will return to work for part of the summer term and may try to complete a much reduced walk in the summer holidays if feasible.

I have been planning this challenge for 2 years and it feels very strange to have everything fall apart in such a short space of time. The guidebooks and maps have been shelved, but the shelf is within reach.

Alan.

Preparation in the Lake District

The title of this post is a lie really ... Not so much preparation as "relaxation" but it was in an outdoor environment right?
Well, not really - the weather was pretty brutal from start to finish, flooding, 60+ mph winds forecast over the fells! I spent a good amount of time indoors and doing jobs around the house. It was useful to know that my relatively new boots (something like my 6th pair over the past 10 years) weren't waterproof - sustained horizontal rain finds a way!

The photo is from one high walk between weather windows that I managed with a friend. The hail started at the summit of Place Fell and we hurried off the top. Walking back in the snow/hail was beautiful, it's just a shame that it all turns to slush and rain at lower altitudes.

Finn approves of the new bench:

Inspiration from Ben

 

I probably should be route planning, checking gear or preparing in some way for the challenge which begins in mere weeks now. But instead, I have just had a great evening hearing the story of a man who has defied the odds to accomplish some truly incredible feats. (Nice to have some reassurance for the fact that he also lacked preparation in the earlier challenges!)

Fundraising for Rebecca House

Rebecca House offers a safe haven and a home from home environment in which physical, emotional, recreational and spiritual care is offered and where children are able to relax and have fun on the Isle of Man. As a teacher, I work with young people on a daily basis and I recognise the importance of a safe space as a basis for all care, whether educational or not.

I am working with Hospice IOM to enable some of the children I teach to learn more about the care Rebecca House provides and to fundraise for the charity themselves. Mr Downwood from Hospice IOM spoke during an assembly today and pupils have been given the opportunity to be involved in fundraising as part of the Isle of Man leg of the 7 Kingdoms Challenge.

This challenge involves either a 10mile walk across the Isle of Man from Peel to Douglas or a shorter 6 mile walk starting half way. The date is set for Friday 20th March and sponsorship forms have gone out today.

Good luck with your fundraising everyone!

Fundraising for UCLH - Cancer Fund

Alan & Marion (with Freyja)

I have decided to split my fundraising between two charities and will be writing a second post in the future about Rebecca House.

This post is about UCLH - Cancer Fund

In September 2018, my sister Marion had been breastfeeding her son for 10 months when, what she thought was mastitis, was diagnosed as breast cancer.

She has since received amazing treatment from University College Hospital, including chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy, which has successfully removed the cancer.
A lot of Marion's treatment was at the Macmillan Cancer Centre, and she is incredibly grateful for the care and expertise of the doctors, consultants and nurses there and in the main hospital, and also for the facilities and support available at the Macmillan Support and Information Service (directly funded by the UCLH Cancer Fund). "The support service was invaluable, especially when attending with my son. The staff were friendly, reassuring and very knowledgeable and the centre is well equipped for families dealing with cancer." Marion and her family were always made to feel welcome, with tea, biscuits and toys available, and she was able to access alternative therapies made possible by the UCLH Charity. Marion spoke of the art installations and live music in the centre, and it is the superb overall level of pastoral care which made me decide that I wanted to raise money for the UCLH Cancer Fund. They really do care deeply for their patients and provide excellent support, any family affected by cancer can relate to this.

FollowMee

I'm very pleased to announce that the 7 Kingdoms has it's first sponsor, FollowMee

The FollowMee GPS tracking mobile app converts your Android, iOS, or Windows device into a GPS tracking device. Installing this app to devices that you want to track, you can monitor their whereabouts on their web site.

This will be the app that I use to share my location throughout the challenge, the map will be embedded in the blog where the ###Map Placeholder### text appears at the moment, this will go live towards the end of March

7 Kingdoms @ Work

I am a school teacher and I've got the go ahead to organise a charity walk to do with the children as the first leg of my 7 Kingdoms. We are hoping to walk across the Isle of Man before I set off to walk across Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland. I'm working out the details at the moment but am hoping for this route of 10 miles: