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Update: I can see now a way out for my walk to recommence. I have been vaccinating with Ceri in Somerset and Devon these past few months . 

So I shall restart my walk on 21/04/21 

**I have reluctantly postponed my walk to London in January with recent Covid issues . Whilst I would hardly not see anyone it just seems inappropriate. I shall certainly do it when things are better maybe March or April . I will get a vaccine on 8th January !!**

It has been such a difficult year for so many people, so I got to thinking "how can I have a bit of an adventure and raise some money for the homeless". I am a very lucky man having good physical and mental health ( some may dispute the last bit) so I've decided to walk unsupported from our home in Devon to London... a bit like Dick Whittington minus the cat! 

My inspiration for the journey comes from several sources. One is my friend Nick Sutcliffe who walked from London to Yeovil raising funds for breast cancer, and of course, Captain Tom who needs no explanation. Being a Quaker, I look forward to the section through Aldermaston with its commitment to the Quaker principle of nuclear disarmament. 

The other inspiration was an episode several years ago when I saw a patient in the surgery who was sleeping rough in an old car . I took him home and gave him food and a bath and somewhere to sleeping. He then helped to redecorate my house in exchange for the help . I helped him get emergency accommodation. I said one day I would do more to help homeless people . This is the result 

It's about 180 miles walking along small roads and tracks. I will allow myself to resupply from local shops, but will camp out in the open and cook mostly boil in the bag meals on my stove. Friends are welcome to join me if they wish to keep me company for the day. I'm not sure how long it will take, but I intend to walk between 15 and 20 miles a day. Limiting factors are the length of day, so at times I may have to walk in the dark, and also the weight of my rucksack. I hope to raise money along the way by displaying a big message on my rucksack. It's been a great excuse to get some new kit as, like me, my old kit is a bit old. "All the kit and no idea" might describe me! 

My route will take me from our back door in Devon, by tracks, byways and small roads, first to Langport, then Bruton then Trowbridge. From there I will pick up the Kennet and Avon canal for 3 or 4 days to Reading then, avoiding the M25, cross the Windsor Great Park to Richmond Park then Wimbledon Common and on to Tooting. I will finish at my old medical school, St George’s Hospital in London, from where I set out in 1982 to become a GP in Cullompton. 

If any of that route appeals to you, please come and join me. I shall update my Just Giving page as I go along, possibly via Ceri. You can contact me on my mobile 07980-715-010 and/or rushton@clara.co.uk. I shall set off on the 21stApril 2021. I will have had both vaccines by then, but will obey all the Covid rules as they develop. As a keen outdoor swimmer, I might even find an open swimming pool for a swim, wash and brush up, or maybe the Kennet and Avon canal .

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