The Yorkshire Wolds Way is a 79-mile (127 km) walking route in the chalk landscape of the Yorkshire Wolds. From the banks of the mighty Humber estuary, along wooded slopes and through serene dry valleys, the walk climbs gently onto the airy tops of the rolling hills where on a clear day "you can see forever". Descending from the northern escarpment the final section of the Way finishes on the dramatic headland of Filey Brigg.

Normally undertaken in around 5 days, the team will aim to complete this beautiful walk within 24 hours. We are by no means super athletes, quite far off from that. We are just a general group of colleagues that want to push themselves to the maximum in order to raise money for a great charity close to all of our hearts.

Hull and East Yorkshire Mind has been selected as the charity we would love to represent as mental health issues impact on all our lives in some way.  Between us we have lost loved ones, friends, colleagues and team mates to suicide as well as suffering with mental health issues ourselves or knowing people who do. This is why this charity is important to us.

We would love to be able to break down the stigma associated with mental ill-health. We work in a very high-pressured environment, where we work with vast amounts of people suffering with mental health issues. We see self-harm and suicide on a daily basis and go through things that people outside of the Prison Service couldn’t even think of.

Doing a huge challenge like this can bring so much awareness to Hull and East Yorkshire Mind and can show that us at HMP Hull care about mental health issues, not just within our walls, but in our local community as well. 

We will be looking to start our journey at 17:00 hours on Friday 30^th July 2021 at the Yorkshire Wolds Way starting point located at Hessle foreshore. The aim is to arrive at the stone monument at Filey Brigg by 17:00 hours on Saturday 31^st July 2021.

This would mean we would have to average approx. 3.3 mph for a full 24 hours to complete this mammoth challenge. This pace will have to be increased when factoring in breaks, changing clothes and replenishing food and drinks. Not to mention the walking in the dark throughout the night and then tackling the heat of our July sun.

Not only will this be a physical challenge, but it will be mentally demanding. The motivation needed to not only complete this challenge, but to train for it, walk with those blisters on your feet. Getting 20 miles in and thinking that there is no way we can do this but marching on anyway. We will be pushing each other all the way, constantly picking each other up and keep putting one foot in front of the other until we reach our goal. We are Prison Officers and we were made to deal with long hours, hard work and being challenged both physically and mentally.

Together we can make a difference and we can help break the stigma associated with mental ill-health.