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In August, I'm setting off to fulfil a long-held ambition: walking the Coast to Coast path, covering 192 miles from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay. I'll be joined by dear friends and family at different stages of the journey, with some stretches walked solo. I have so many memories and associations with many of the places en route and I am forever grateful to my parents for cultivating my love for Swaledale and wild places.

I'd like to use the walk to raise money for Curlew Action, a cause that's closely connected to the places I'll be walking through and one that means a great deal to me.

It was on walks across the moors above Swaledale that I first fell in love with the call of the curlew. That bubbling, haunting cry drifting across the moor is one of my earliest memories of the dale. You can hear it here on this remarkable RSPB film about curlew parents guarding their chicks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dORmoNA-UDI

Sadly, it's a sound that's under real threat. Curlew numbers have fallen by more than half across the UK in recent decades, and the Yorkshire Dales National Park is no exception. Predators, intensive farming, nest disturbance and a reduction in available nutrition through climate change have all contributed to the decline of curlews and other ground-nesting birds.

Curlew Action works with farmers, land managers and conservation partners to protect nesting sites and improve breeding success. As a key partner in the Curlew Recovery Partnership, the charity helps coordinate conservation efforts, supports practical action on the ground, and raises awareness of the impact of climate change and the challenges curlews face. It's vital work and urgent, but it's also complex, sometimes controversial and often an uphill struggle.

Curlews return to breed in all three of the landscapes I'll be crossing: the Lake District, Swaledale and the North York Moors. By August they'll probably have fledged their chicks and left their nesting grounds, so we may not hear their distinctive call on the walk. But I hope this fundraiser can help ensure they return successfully next spring, and that future generations will still have the chance to hear that unforgettable sound.

For more information about Curlew Action here is their website https://www.curlewaction.org

I'd be so grateful for your support. Every donation, whatever the amount, will help.

Thank you so much, and thanks to Irene, Drew, Lindsay, Sally, Kathy and Penny, and of course, Peter and Jack for keeping me company along the way.

Jude

**UPDATE**

I finished the walk on Saturday 22nd - 16 walking days and a total of 230 miles, which includes extra mountains (thanks Drew!) detours and occasionally losing our way (sorry Irene!). As is customary I dipped my toe in the North Sea and threw in the pebble picked up in St Bees

It was a truly wonderful experience, both the Coast to Coast itself and the opportunity to walk and talk with friends along the way. We had 4 seasons of weather, sometimes in one day, and I’d love to return just to see those places that were covered in cloud and mist! We heard lapwings but not curlews but I’m sure they will be back next year - though sadly not to the North York Moors behind Robin Hoods Bay as a terrible fire has destroyed that habitat.

Thank you so so much to everyone who has so generously donated, the total has exceed my wildest estimation and Curlew Action will be absolutely delighted. It means so much to a small charity.

Thanks to all my companions and to Vivienne and Bruce for coming all the way to Robin Hoods Bay to meet us. Huge huge thanks to Peter for all the chauffeuring and the complicated logistics that entailed.

Photo credits: Kevin Gutteridge, Tim Melling and me with my iPhone!