Many people will travel over 4,000 miles to reach safety in the UK, facing dangerous journeys and vulnerable to imprisonment and abuse. I'm helping the Cardinal Hume Centre support the many vulnerable people who have made similar journeys.

I will walk 4,000 miles around the coastline of England and Wales, including the Isle of Wight and Anglesey, starting and ending in London. I will not use ferries to “cut-off” estuaries, instead walking up rivers until I can cross them on foot.

At 71, I am a keen walker, though the only long-distance walk I had done so far is Hadrian’s Wall, which at around 100 miles is about 2.5% of what I'm attempting now! So, before committing myself to this challenge, I did the first bit of the walk as a “test week” in November 2022: 146 miles along the coast from the Thames Barrier at Woolwich to Broadstairs in Kent, taking 7 days. It went well! So I'm continuing the walk from Broadstairs starting 15th February 2023.

My target is to complete the remaining 3,854 miles in approximately 200 days of walking “clockwise” around the coastline, ending in London, walking around 3 weeks at a time, followed by a short return to Claygate for a few days’ rest. While on the road I will stay mainly in B&B’s, depending on what's available.

However, quite a few friends and acquaintances have kindly offered me a bed for the night where they have properties near the coast, and I will thank them along the way as I take advantage of their huge hospitality.

You can follow the progress of my walk on: https://www.facebook.com/BrendanHemming117/

I am pledging £1 per mile of my own money to the Cardinal Hume Centre, but will be grateful for anything you feel you can spare. I am covering all of my own expenses, so anything you give will go straight to the Cardinal Hume Centre.

Whatever you can give will help to turn lives around. Thank you so much and pray for me!

To learn more about the Centre visit:

https://www.cardinalhumecentre.org.uk/big4000