The Bearded Wanderer will return.......

Welcome to my Just Giving Page and Operation: Bearded Wanderer.

Where do I start?

They say that life is a journey, over the last few years mine has been a walking and indirectly a weight loss journey. My 40's saw me spending far too long sat at a desk and not getting out in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I was (and still am) a Football Dad which sees me on various touchlines most evenings and at weekends. But from an exercise point of view I felt that there was no time. Then a couple of years ago I stumbled across the Walk Over Cancer challenge, where the aim was to walk 10,000 steps to raise money for Cancer Research UK and to my surprise, I completed it. Somehow finding that time during the day to include the steps, whether that be a lunch time stroll or an evening walk or indeed both. Fast forward a little and in the last couple of years I’ve completed the challenge three times, twice with the restrictions of Covid to contend with too.

The walking hadn’t stopped there, as when I was placed on Furlough in October 2020 I needed something to occupy my time (and mind), it wasn’t the sunny times that most had been lucky to have in the earlier bout of Furlough, I looked at DIY and cake baking but walking helped my mind and of course was starting to help fitness wise. By the time December rolled around the walking had ramped up from around 5 miles a day to a regular 10-15 miles and where restrictions allowed, visits to some local beauty spots. But December had another walking challenge in store, Santa and his Elves – this saw myself and three friends hit the local streets dressed as Santa and his Elves spreading good cheer, just a socially distanced smile and a wave but that snowballed too! Most people expected us to be collecting, so in the end with the generosity of the local community we raised money and donated it to very apt Charity for both walking and state of mind – WATCH (Walking And Talking Charity Hikes). Of course there is also the benefit of in the last couple of years I’ve also lost around 3 stone!

As 2021 continues I’m no longer on Furlough, the world attempts to kick back in and time is taken back up by football etc. I’ve still tried to carry on walking which leads me on to this challenge – I'm rapidly heading towards 50 I need to have something that I can say ‘I did that’ and it mean something, so why not take on a LONG walk to one of the most beautiful counties in the country. Just to complicate matters, I’m a Zebra, in that I suffer from Ehlers Danlos syndrome. Where, as my variant isn’t too bad, mainly unsightly lumps on my elbows and knees (I’m sure they’ll inadvertently appear on some photos), ‘stretchy skin’ and quite relaxed joints. Although from a walking perspective this can give me stiffness and inflammation in my ankles and Achilles so even without this challenge some days walking full stop can be a pain. Feel free to look up Ehlers Danlos.

The charities that I’m looking to help out are close to my heart:

• Cancer Research UK, as unfortunately we’re all touched in some way with this horrible disease and I’ve lost some people that have meant the world to me
• MIND, the work that these people do is phenomenal and knowing how my walking has helped my mental state means that I can give back to them
• The Davies Foundation, these help so many inspiration charities and without their help this walk would be a pipe dream!

Please spend some time to help me raise much needed funds for these charities or help me along the way, somewhere between Stoke and Looe..... Or perhaps, if you’re feeling up for it then feel free to join me for a while – it’s only around 300 miles in 10 Days!!!

Social Media

Operation: Bearded Wanderer on Instagram

Operation: Bearded Wanderer on Twitter

My Route

Kidsgrove to Looe                                                                                           

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