Saturday 12th June. The final day. Edgware - London tower bridge.

When I woke up this morning, I couldn't believe the last day had arrived. There were a couple of times that I thought it would never get here. The condemned walkers were given a hearty breakfast before being set loose in the big city.

The route was to take us down Edgware road to Hyde park corner and Marble Arch, past Buckingham palace, up the mall to Trafalger square and then the Strand, Fleet st, St Pauls Cathedral and onto Tower bridge.

Not one of us realized just how long Edgware road is, but we had been hoofing it for 2 1/2 hours and we were still on it. Fortunately, all of the pomp for the Queens birthday was over and done with by the time we hit Hyde park corner, which was very nice of them to arrange her celebrations around our schedule.

It was around Hyde park that Carol turned into the papparazzi. Thankfully she did though as it would have been such a shame to not have captured the events of today.

2 of our young men from the 1st day, joined us on Friday night to do the last days walk (glory hunters)  Thanks to Daniel and Baxxy for coming along.

It was also really nice to have Sharron and little Abby join us from St Paul's. The size of Abby that must have felt like walking the entire Jarrow march, she did get a little help from Dan's shoulders toward the end thankfully. It was nice to have them as part of the team for the last few days, Abby kept everyones mind off blisters.

I must admit to having a little moment to myself as we approached the final corner before getting to Tower bridge. I had a look up and a couple of words with Big Al (Dad) and let him know I had enjoyed his company along the way this last 4 weeks, especially the middle 2 when it was just me and him on the road. He certainly helped me along the way for the couple of days that my leg was really bad, and I think he was giving Sylvia a little push today also.

It was a very strange feeling when we did eventually get to the finish line, i'm not sure yet whether it was an anti-climax, relief, disbelief or what. Maybe I will figure it out in the days to come.

Lucy was there waiting with the bubbly for us ( I think this is the reason that Lyndsey was leading the way for most of the day ) (sorry Lynds, couldn't resist). Thanks to Lucy for making the effort to come down from the North East to greet us.

After the efforts of the last 4 weeks there was only 1 thing left to do.....................................let's go to the pub!!!! And we did just that.

 

This has been a tremendous journey and I have really enjoyed doing it, although I can't think of 1 good reason to repeat it. It is 1 that I have great pride at having accomplished what I set out to do, and I have many memories to keep, some great, some not so great, but fortunately, far more of the former.

I would like to thank everyone who has made this possible.

Everyone who has donated either money or prizes or hotel rooms, Thank you so much and I hope you think it was a worthy cause.

Thanks to all that took the time to help to raise funds, not only for the website, but for the raffle also, without which the walk was doomed. Special mention to the Orkney branch here, as there efforts were outstanding.

To all who walked some of the way with me, everyone on the 1st day, Sharron down to Ripon (sorry about the toe) and the last day, Steven my next door neighbour for coming down to see me in Loughborough. Mike, Sylvia, Carol and Lyndsey for the last week ( fantastic effort, thanks for joining ), Barry & Val for being a great support team for the 1st week. Thanks to Dan and Kirsty for walking as much as was possible.

Paul.      Mike and I really wanted to have you along and missed you mate, I bet you feel like you missed out sitting in the sunshine over there.....Yeh right. Look forward to telling you all these stories again when you return.

Last but by no means least. Thanks to Annette, who was brilliant. She walked for the 1st week, was support team for the 2nd & 3rd weeks and walked the last week. I don't think she minded the walking, but the driving was a big effort on her part, and I think stress-wise, that took more out of her than she let on. I think while she was the support team her favourite job was to massage my calfs at the end of each days walking, that way she got to physically hurt me for making her drive in cities and towns she didn't know. Sorry love!!!

If I have missed anyone out then i'm sorry.

I think that's it, the only thing left to say is........... Thanks for your support.

 

 

 

 

Friday. St Albans - Edgware.

We were spoiled for support team today, Sylvia in 1 car and Sharron, Kirsty and Abby in the other. Aabby was handing out flowers to all walkers during our breaks, not that we needed too many breaks today, it was a breeze at just 8.5 miles. We had just got going and it was time to stop, we were all so sad.

We are all ready for the final push tomorrow and then ready for watching the football with a few beers. Sounds fantastic.

 

Thursday. Luton - St Albans.

Not too much to report on the walking side of things, except the small matter of the miles going down rapidly now thankfully.

We got our 2nd last wave of troops this afternoon. Kirsty, Sharron & Abby joined us ready for the final push. It is always nice to get a fresh group full of enthusiasm and unaware of what lies ahead.

Everyone is getting on a bit of a high for the finish line now and getting back to normality.

Mike and I were driving tomorrows route this evening and found that I had made a huge error with the milage for tomorrow. Instead of the 18 miles as planned we have 8.5 miles to Edgware. Can you just imagine our joy?

 

Tuesday. Milton Keynes - Luton.

The day began by being met by a very nice crowd from the local branch of the Alzheimer's society. They gave us a nice send off and even saw the funny side of us trying to get out of the car park the wrong way (God only knows how I have made it this far).

Mike, Sylvia, Lyndsey and I started off walking with Carol driving and Annette as the co-pilot. We managed just over a mile before the heavens opened, of coarse none of us were dressed for it, so we had to call back the support car for a change of clothes etc. Mike and I donned our waterproofs and continued in the downpour, while the girls went to find a coffee shop to console themselves.

After about another 8 miles and a break in the weather, Sylvia & Lyndsey thought they would have another crack at it. You guessed it, 5 minutes later, they were drowned rats once more, back came the support team to pick them up to dry off.

Carol had a fist fight with Annette for the last set of rain gear and joined Mike and I for the last 8 mile or so. It was probably a good job so that Annette's feet could have time to get better for the last 3 days coming up.

Lyndsey said to hell with the weather and joined us for the last hour or so. It was either that or continue to be tested by Annette for her driving theory test, she chose pain over education.

It was a very wet day, but a lot more tollerable than the last day i got rained on, as I had someone to talk to this time.

NEARLY THERE!!!!!!!!   

 

Monday. Northampton - Milton Keynes.

Last night saw the arrival of the 2nd wave of the Orkney branch. It took them 10 hours to get here (they might aswell have walked).

Mike started off in the car, which left me and the ladies to hoof it from the off. As you can imagine, 4 of the fairer sex who haven't seen each other for a while gave me a little more time for reflection (like I needed that).

Sylvia did the smart thing and swapped places with Mike 2/3 of the way. The other 3 girls are suffering a little this evening for being hard headed and wanting to finish. All 3 of them did a terrific job today as 21 miles is a long walk for anyone.

With all these aching bones tonight, I think I will recharge my i-pod for tomorrow!!

 

Saturday. Market Harborough - Northampton.

It was so nice to finally put the i-pod back in the case and talk to someone on the road. Annette was very happy indeed to get out of the car and stretch her legs after being stuck in there for 2 weeks.

Carol took up the responsibility of transport manager for today, which left Mike, Annette and I to negotiate the odd hill as shown in one of the photos.

We were going along nicely until we hit Northampton, then for the 1st time since we set off, we got lost. Under normal circumstances this is not too much of a problem, but when you have already done about 18 miles, then it's not too funny. It's up to you to work out why we got lost today, but I wouldn't even begin to blame Mike as it was also his 1st day????????

 

Friday. Leicester - Market Harborough.

Another beautiful day today, around 25c. The walking seemed to be coming very easily today, hence the skipping and Tom foolery en-route. A few miles before the end I decided to continue on for an hour this afternoon to lessen the blow on the newcomers tomorrow. I did about 4 1/2 extra miles, but that still leaves about 19 for us to do tomorrow, there will be some aching legs and feet at the end of that.

It was marvellous to welcome Mike and Carol this afternoon. It has given Annette and I a much needed boost for the last week of our journey. I'm looking forward to seeing how Mike's knackered old knee holds up to them thar hills.

 

Wednesday. Loughborough - Leicester.

That was a really nice walk today. The weather was very nice to us and I finally got the shorts back on and got a little sun to my pasty legs.

My leg is feeling better by the day, which is a huge relief, and has given me that much needed 2nd wind.

Annette and I are really looking forward to the 1st wave of Cavalry arriving on Friday evening, Mike and Carol will be joining us, with Sylvia & Lyndsey following on Sunday. My oh my, have I got a couple of beauties lined up for them!!! 20 milers, just to break them in gently.

 

Tuesday. Nottingham - Loughborough.

It was marvelous to have a day resting, and those 2 beers on Sunday night hit the spot just nicely, I just wish they had lasted a little longer.

Rain again today but who cares? i'm walking and that's all that matters. I bumped into my next door neighbour Steve today (as you would) on the road. That was nice to have a chat and he assured me that Daniel hadn't burned the house down as yet. The movie "Risky business" keeps popping into my head.

I am quite please that I planned the route the way I did. This means that there are more rest days during the 2nd half of the walk than there was on the 1st. Even though I was well rested yesterday, I was still very tired when I reached Loughborough this afternoon.

 

Sunday. Mansfield - Nottingham.

Annette got all dressed up ready to walk this morning because of the problems with my leg. But us Sand-dancers are made of sturdier stuff than that. I slapped on an ice patch and off we went. It went fine considering how it had been yesterday, but I still had it checked when I got their by our NHS angels. A blood infection caused by the smallest of cuts that it was barely visible. I must say, I am mighty relieved it wasn't worse news. Antibiotics and ice patches and we will be fine.

 

 

Saturday. Chesterfield - Mansfield.

It's difficult to know where to start with today, so I will begin with the weather. It poured down from 10 am to 4 pm. I began walking at 10:10 and finished at 3:30. Thank God for good quality waterproofs.

As far as the injury to the leg is concerned. The day of rest can't come quick enough for me to get it looked into. I was going at a snails pace for the last 1 1/2 hours. It felt like I was walking on a broken leg, but i'm sure that the rain and the fatigue were factors in that.

I'm sure that a nice meal and a glass or 2 of wine tomorrow evening will raise the spirits considerably.

I will update you again on Tuesday, have a great holiday weekend.

 

Thursday. Barnsley to Sheffield.

The 1st signs of fatigue set in today. My left leg found it hard to negotiate the hills today, and by the end hurt quite badly. Annette suggested (with a smile on her face) that i needed a very cold bath. Who am I to argue......My God, that got my attention. Hopefully, a good nights rest and I should be good to go tomorrow.

 

Friday. Sheffield to Chesterfield.

We met up with the Lord Mayor of Sheffield this morning at the dementia cafe in the city. A very nice guy, who tried his utmost to get the local press interested in the walk. It seems not even the mayor can sway them if they have other things to report.

It was a beautiful day for walking, the sun was shining but it wasn't too hot.

We finally made it through Yorkshire. It was lovely to walk through but it seemed to go on for ever, lets hope Derbyshire is a little smaller.

Unfortunately the problem with the left leg didn't go down much overnight. I will grit my teeth and get through the next 2 days and take care of myself on my day off on Monday.

 

Wednesday. Wakefield to Barnsley.

The day started off with Annette and I visiting the wakefield dementia cafe in the church hall. I gave them a brief talk about what I was doing and why, and they gave us a great send off aswell as a very nice gesture of a donation towards our fund raising.

I am getting quite fond of walking on pavements now and not only that, the last couple of days has been lovely weather for walking, around 14 C and dry. About an hour after I had finished this afternoon, the rain started, we got lucky there and hopefully that luck will hold out.

A big thank you goes to all the premier inn's who are putting us up for free. However tonight the Barnsley dearne valley branch came up trumps with complimetary dinner & breakfast in the morning. All of the staff who have looked after us so far have been tremendous.  

 

Tuesday. Leeds - Wakefield.

It was nice to finally walk on pavements again. It does make a big difference to the energy levels when you're not up and down from road to grass constantly. Other than that it was quite an uneventful day thankfully.

 

Monday.

I had a nice relaxing day today after the tough few days of the weekend. Annette had some much needed retail therapy in Leeds. I met with the Leeds day care centre in their rather grand location. It was nice to see their operation and to chat with the carers and the guests.

 

 

Sunday. Harrogate - Leeds.

Probably the most hilly leg of the walk yet, and most definitely the hottest. That was a tough day at the office. I have decided to believe the locals here that this is truly "Gods country". Judging by amount of bloody hills I walked up today, the pearly gates must be just around the next corner.

I was really, really tired after today, the heat plays a big part in how you feel when you finish. When we arrived at the hotel, there were a few groups sitting outside enjoying a few cold beers. Yes I did. I succumbed, and had 2 of the most delicious ice cold beers i can remember.

Thankfully there is a day of rest tomorrow, and a chance to rest tired legs and feet. Never fear though. We will be fighting fit on Tuesday, and ready for a long, tough stretch to Nottingham.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO FORWARD THIS SITE TO ANYONE WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED AND MAYBE THEY WILL DONATE A LITTLE SOMETHING WHILE THEY'RE ON HERE.

Thanks, and i'll see you in a couple of days.

Garry. ( The Jarra wanderer )  

 

 

Saturday. Ripon - Harrogate.

North Yorkshire just keeps getting more & more beautiful to walk through. If it wasn't for the fact that it was scorching hot, my feet were aching, my body was tired and I was constantly thirsty, I would have probably enjoyed that.

There are so many nice places to walk through on this leg and when you walk through Harrogate itself, it makes it all worth while.

I'm starting to get more and more tired at the end of the days.

 

 

 

Friday Northallerton - Ripon.

Well, that was more miles than the internet predicted, and quite honestly i think the road signs are just plain lying. Sharron thought that leg was tough, and she's proffesional at being fit.

We were having a lovely walk until we crossed over the A1, then the traffic really built up which made it get even hotter.

The weather so far has been terrific, but if I was being over critical, just a little too hot for long walks. Just a gentle stroll down to Harrogate tomorrow and high tea in Betties tea rooms (according to Annette).

Well, I will update you on our progress in a couple of days.

Thanks,

 

Well, that's the 1st leg completed. I must admit, I didn't think Annette's feet were going to last out, but she is made of sterner stuff and would not let it beat her. Well done.

The walk from Darlington to Northallerton today wasn't without its moments. We had to walk on the road all of the way, and there was plenty of traffic. While I was walking along daydreaming, 1 young man in his extremely noisy Subaru came very close to taking me back to my nappy wearing days.

Rest day tomorrow and time to put the feet up. We forgot to take any photos the last couple of days, must try harder.

See you on Friday evening.   

 

Hi again,

Before I start the events of the walk, there are just a few people I would like to thank.

Firstly, thanks to the South Tyneside branch of the Alzheimer's society who first listened to my crazy idea and started the ball rolling.

Massive thanks to Lucy Hudson who has been a great help to Annette and I in making this thing happen, I really appreciate all of her hard work, time, experience and guidance.

Thanks to everyone who has helped with the walk and the raffle to help raise funds enough for the walk to take place. Premier inn have been a huge help in providing most of the accommodation.

My family in the Orkney islands have raised an awful lot of money towards both the raffle and the Alzheimer's society, and have put a lot of effort into this event. Thanks a million. 

To everyone who has donated to the cause either on this website, or bought a raffle ticket. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Finally, and most importantly, Thanks Annette, for putting up with the mood swings, and getting me through the frustrating times that come with fund raising, aswell as the input into the event. Not to mention the small matter of being away from home for a month to do the walk, either on the pavement with me, or in the car as support.

 

DAY 1. Jarrow to Sunderland

What a great send off we got on Saturday, Friends, family, the Alzheimer's society and groundworks walkers all joined us for a part of the 1st days walk, along with plenty of others there just to see us off.

We had a great age range on the walk from 14 year old Kirsty and Katie, to Kirsty's grandma (who finished almost all of the route) well done to all 3. Well done also to Liz from the South Shields branch of the Alzheimer's society, who pushed herself through the pain barrier to get from Jarrow to Shields.

The "coolness" of walking for charity went through the roof with our 4 young men who strutted their way through the day, although a couple of them probably suffered on Sunday with blisters, as image seemed more important than good walking shoes. Thanks to all 4 of you for sticking it out with the wrinklies.

A special thanks to Barry & Val, who were our support team and will be so for the 1st week of the walk, without their happy smiling faces, and boot full of goodies every few miles, we wouldn't have made it.

Sweep the dog was terrific aswell, he dragged us the whole way, he had a lot of fun running around the Leazes. I guess Chris wishes he had put a saddle on him to ease the pain in his knee and his blisters, but that wasn't going to stop him doing the whole walk. Sharron is Sharron! She could have sprinted the whole way without breaking sweat.

We also had a fantastic send off from South Shields from the Mayor & Mayoress. It was a terrific gesture for them to take time out of their busy schedule to come and give us a hearty handshake and some very kind words to send us on our way. Thanks to them the rest of the day was much easier.

DAY 2. Sunderland to Durham

Sunderland to Durham was quite tough, as most of the walk was on grass alongside some heavy traffic. The walking on grass really takes it out of you but being so early on in the walk it wasn't too much of a problem.

DAY 3. Durham to Newton Aycliffe.

Thankfully Annette and I were back on pavement, which made it a lot easier. However, we did find hills that we had never noticed were there. Thank God for support teams, what a wonderful invention they are.

 

Hi

On 15th May 2010 I will be embarking on a journey 10 years in the making.

I will be reenacting the Jarrow march of 1936 for the benefit of the Alzheimer's society. Walking from Jarrow to London, passing through as many of the Towns and Cities as the pioneers of 73 years ago did, as is possible. This will work out at about 350 miles or 550 km in 4 weeks 

Whilst passing through these places, I will hopefully be joined by as many people as  possible to have fun and raise much needed funds for research into Alzheimer's.

This is 10 years in the making because my Dad, ALAN RAE, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 10 years prior to the walk beginning.

My Dad, along with his 2 brothers, Barry and Don, affected many lives in the region through their catering company, Caterae International, hiring all local men and sending them to the North sea oil rigs.

After having spent 6 months in Palmers hospital in Jarrow, he entered Bamburgh care home in South Shields in January 2004. He spent the next, and last 38 months of his life there. As much as the care he got there was excellent, and the home very nice, some of the scenes I saw in there during my many visits were very, very sad and affected me considerably.

After my Dad's death in March 2007, I hoped that I would never again have to witness this horrible, debillatating, pride-sucking disease. However, after time grieving and thinking, I realized that by turning a blind eye to it, this problem does not go away. If there is no funds given to research into this, then how can we possibly advance from where we are now.

I am sure there are many people reading this who have, in some way, been affected by Alzheimer's, and unfortunately, there will be many of you who will in the future, have to deal with it. In the UK alone, there are more than 700,000 sufferers. You can only imagine how many there are world wide.

This is where you all come in. Time to be a knight in shining armour.

By giving as much as you possibly can (without selling your childrens' shoes), you will be giving future sufferers of Alzheimer's a far greater chance at a better quality of life than they would have without donations like yours.

Alzheimer's is a worldwide cause and any advances in research made, benefits everybody. 

Please give generously.

Many, many thanks in advance.

Garry

 

 

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