I'm raising £1,000 for the Poppy Appeal

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In August this year I intend to trek over the Pyrenees Mountains from France into Spain following "The Freedom Trail" (see description further down this page)

I intend to raise funds for Veterans and their Families within my local area.

I have the honour and privilege of being the District Chairman for the Royal British Legion in Northern Ireland and I feel it as my duty to raise funds for the vast number of Veterans in our "Wee Country"

Please help me to raise as much as possible so as to support this worthy cause. Any donation will be gratefully received and all funds raised will go directly to the Poppy Appeal.

The Chemin de la Liberté (Freedom Trail) is a World War II memorial route. This historic high-mountain trail in the French and Spanish Pyrenees retraces the paths used by thousands of Allied airmen, Jewish people, and Resistance members fleeing Nazi occupation to reach Spain.

Key information and practical details regarding this historic route include:
Location and Route: The main trail begins in the town of Saint-Girons in Ariège and extends into Spain, crossing the Pyrenees mountain range

History:
Also known as the Freedom Trail (or the Pat O'Leary Line), this path enabled over 33,000 civilians and 6,000 Allied military personnel to escape the Nazi regime.

The Trek:
This is a very challenging route reserved for experienced hikers, typically spanning five days. The best time to undertake it is between May and September.

There are 22 Memorials to those who died on the Trail having either been betrayed by Nazi sympathisers or caught by the Nazis who had patrols out scouting for escspees etc. Sadly, they were either executed on the spot or sent back to the Concentration Camps where they would have died from slave labour or would have been gassed in the dreaded gas chambers.

As a mark of respect, I intend to leave a wooden Poppy Cross and recite Binyon's Exhortation at each Memorial