Actions speak louder than words – and that’s why I’m getting a move on for Hospiscare this May (2026)! Over the course of the month, I’ll be walking (more than) 100 miles, to make sure Hospiscare can be there for local patients and their families during one of life’s most difficult journeys.

My plan is to walk, over 7 or more days through the month, the South West Coast Path from Bude to Minehead (where it finishes): 124 miles, including just over 100 miles in Devon. I've not done most of this stretch before (I mainly walk on the South Devon coast), and, while a few parts are graded 'easy', much is 'strenuous' and some is even 'severe'. But the views are fantastic (I'm told).

Hospiscare is a local charity, caring for terminally ill patients and their families across Exeter, Mid and East Devon. Their teams of doctors and nurses offer free specialist palliative and end-of-life care, to ensure patients are able to make the most of the time they have left and live every day to its fullest. They were a great help to my mother in her final days two decades ago; and I was helped too. Hospiscare are reliant on the generosity of the community in order to keep their services going, and they need our help.

100 miles in a month is no small feat - and your support would mean the world to me. When I took part in last year's version of this challenge my supporters amazed me with their generosity, smashing my target (thank you if you were one of them). So please, help make every mile count and donate today! Together, we can make a difference.

UPDATE: I did it! And it was tough. I completed my challenge by walking on seven non-consecutive days:

Thu 7th: Bude to Hartland Quay (16.8 miles, graded ‘severe’);

Mon 11th: Hartland Quay to Bucks Mill (16.8 miles);

Wed 13th: Bucks Mill to Barnstaple (26.2 miles, though the last 19 were flat);

Thu 21st: Barnstaple to Woolacombe (21.5 miles, the first 12 were flat);

Tue 26th: Woolacombe to Combe Martin (16.4 miles, in 28degC heat);

Thu 28th: Combe Martin to Lynmouth (14.9 miles, and my favourite section for views);

Sat 30th: Lynmouth to Minehead (24.9 miles, with ‘creative’ mileage signs, and finishing with a celebration involving fish & chips and a beer!)

The alert reader will notice that the mileages (from my Strava activity app) add up to at least 10 miles more than the official 124 miles the Coast Path guide gives. This is partly because I walked out to several headlands, and got lost (and had to backtrack) a couple of times, but also because Strava is not 100% accurate, particularly it seems when trying to follow paths zig-zagging down and back up steep hillsides – which I did a lot!

I hope this inspires you to donate to Hospiscare via my page. (And it might inspire you to holiday in the South West and walk a few coast path miles yourself!) Thanks for anything you can give. I’m off to lie down for a week…