Reflections on a job well done.

Well it's been a couple of days since we finished now and the dust has settled, giving us all time to reflect on what we've achieved.

Obviously the main point was to raise as much cash as we could for a very worthy cause, and in this we succeeded beyond our expectations. Most of the money came in through the just giving website as we anticipated, but we still made over £400.00 in bucket collections over the five days of the Walk. It was therefore well worth the effort of carrying the collection tins as we marched. We also handed out cards with the just giving address on to people in places where we couldn't collect, so there could be some more to come in from that source before the end. In addition, both Kev and I have some outstanding sponsorships to collect, so there's definately more to come. Currently we have a total in the region of £1650.00, and it could well top £1700.00 in the end.

So, cash aside, how do we think it went?

Firstly it has to be said that the whole project was a team effort. Although the idea was hatched by Kev and I during a pub-break on a hill walk a couple of years ago, the others were all on board very soon after, offering their support and services. Dawn, Ed and Catriona were instrumental in getting the displays set up at each site, and Ed and Catriona did most of the donkey work of carting the stuff around. John was a brilliant stand in legionary, taking on the combat routines after Kev broke his hand, and also pitching in with about half of the walking, after poor old Kev's feet went the same was as his hand! Dawn, Ed and Catriona all did their own stints at walking so that there was always at least two of us walking at any time.

So everyone played their part, everyone did their bit, and as a team we kept each other going and got the job done.

Would we do it again? I think the answer has to be yes we would. Everybody enjoyed themselves and had a good laugh, and we all got a massive kick out of achieving something positive. I certainly intend to walk along the wall again sometime, but as a tourist so that I can take in more of the scenery and spend more time just looking at the archaeology.

Would we do anything different? Again the answer is yes. Personally I would not recommend doing 85 miles in only five days. Although 17 miles a day does not sound too taxing, the terrain is variable and very rugged in some places, and we were rarely able to march at the pace we had anticipated. I also would not have planned to do so many shows, as they each took a lot of time and meant that we were frequently running late or walking against the clock. The result was some long days and late finishes, and if we were to start again now, I'd plan to do fewer, longer stops at sites, and do the hole thing in maybe six or seven days. But then again, where's the challenge in that?!

Finally, was it worth doing? Hell yes. I'd have walked the wall just for fun. I'd even have walked the wall in kit just for fun. So to do it for Help for Heroes was a bonus, and the support and good comments we got from everyone we met was the icing on the cake.

If anyone is actually reading this blog, and is thinking about walking the wall themselves - for any purpose - I hope these ramblings help to convince you to go for it. You won't regret it. Do your homework well, check your distances and timings, and most of all, make sure you have a damned good pair of boots! There’s so much to see and do in the Wall Country, that you’ll have a great time whatever the weather.

That’s about it from us. I doubt if there’ll be many more posts to follow, but in a couple of weeks when we’ve got something like an official total I shall post that. The just giving site will be active for a while yet, so if you haven’t donated yet you still can.

On behalf of the six of us I would like to say thanks for reading, I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing the story of our walk as much as we enjoyed doing it. Once again we’d like to thank you for your time, your best wishes and your encouragement. It meant a lot to us to know that others care for the cause of our wounded boys and girls as much as we do.

All the Best,

Stu, Kev, John, Dawn, Ed & Catriona,
Hadrian’s Help for Heroes.

Donate: www.justgiving.com/hadrianshelpforheroes