Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

As most of you know the reason for my attempting this walk was to offer my sincere thanks to the men and women of the RNLI especially those connected with the rescue attempt in the Morecambe Bay Helicopter Tragedy on 27 December 2006.  On this particular evening a CHC Scotia Helicopter crashed into the Irish Sea taking with it the lives of seven men; one of those men was my father, the Chief Pilot of the Blackpool Base, Stephen Potton.  Despite the fact that the men were killed on impact the volunteers of the RNLI fought on for a full 24 hours to bring home the bodies of the men.  Without their dedication I would never have had the chance to grieve and say farewell to my Dad in an appropriate and dignified manner.  My gratitude also extends to the RAF and the Centrica Life Raft which were also out that night but as the RNLI rely entirely on charitable donations it seemed best to support them.

The walk we set out to complete, and successfully completed, was the Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk.  192 aching miles from St Bee’s in the Lake District right the way across to Robin Hood’s Bay in Yorkshire (Gods County). 

Originally I attempted the walk alone in September 2007 and had to call off the attempt after awful map reading, poor planning and picking up an injury on the second day (I found myself miles from where I should have been, carrying a 25 kilo rucksack with bi-lateral ligament damage).

Upon returning from the attempt I immediately realised that if I were to do it again I would need friends to walk with and a support vehicle of some kind – oh, and lots of planning.  Therefore, I began to ask friends and colleagues to see if anyone would walk with me and I am proud to say that six other men volunteered almost immediately.  Allow me to introduce the team:

Adam Simpson:  Adam has been a friend of mine since University and knew my Dad well.  It was Adam who drove me up to St Bee’s to start the original attempt in 2007 and then collected me a few days later after I’d torn a ligament.  Adam has excellent map reading skills which will be invaluable as I managed to get lost several times on my first attempt!

Kevin Hoines:  Although he never knew my father, Kevin has the dubious pleasure of me being his potential son-in-law!  The ‘Silver Fox’ of the team, Kevin has a huge amount of walking experience including a sponsored trek upMount Kilimanjaro. 

Joan Roquet-Jalmar:  The foreign ringer!  I met Jo in my previous job and we have stayed friends ever since.  Jo was a great help with my first attempt as he came round to help Lauren walk my rather large and unruly dog while I was away.  Jo has always been an active climber and he carries a cool scar from when he fell and broke his back some years ago.  When he learned that I wanted to walk again with company he immediately volunteered.

Simon Mason:  I’ve known Simon from when he was a young Scout and I immediately took him under my wing when he came to our Venture unit.  Simon is always active and is currently working installing ‘Go-Ape’ rope courses across the country.  He has climbed mountains in Scotland, walked glaciers in Norway and was very nearly arrested for accidentally crossing the border between Italy and France when ice climbing in theAlps.  Simon, like Jo, immediately volunteered to walk with me; after I spoke to him on the phone he called back and asked “Are we still walking for your Dad?”  When I said yes he replied, “Cool!  See you later.”

Steve Sandman:  In the beginning of June I was approached by my colleague Steve Sandman who asked if he could join us on the walk.  I was a bit dubious at first but he has promised to get some extra sponsorship for the RNLI.  Steve will be on hand to look after our religious and cultural needs as well as carrying emergency toilet roll for the group.

Ken Hart:  Ken was the first to volunteer to help me for the next attempt at the walk.  Knowing his limitations well enough he simply sent me an email to say that he would drive in support and would be waiting for me each evening with a hot meal and my tent erect.  I think he was a bit shocked when I told him he would be transporting 5 other blokes as well but he did take it in his stride.  Ken knew my father for the last five years of his life and during the walk he looked after me quite a lot, therefore he has now earned the nick-name ‘Uncle Ken’.

During our walk we were occasionally able to log-on to the internet and update this site with our progress, since returning home I have updated this and, in my usual style, embellished it to make quite a wonderful story so please do read on.  But before you do I would like to say “thank you” to a few people, Masonic Lodges and Organisations:

The most important person to thank is Richard Day from English in Chester (where I used to work).  Needless to say, the team and kit could not be transported in a normal car as we were a group of seven (and a couple of those couldn’t leave home without four holdalls crammed with stuff – mentioning no names).  Richard lent us his 8 seat mini bus which could hold us all comfortably.  Without this bus the walk would have been twice as hard and we would have had to pay for hiring a vehicle (incidentally several of the top Car Rental Companies never bothered to reply to any emails I sent asking for their help).  Thank you Richard, without your help the walk would never have got off of the ground.

Three Masonic Lodges have sponsored us £500 in total so I would like to name and thank each of them in turn.  Thank you to Quasi from Progress Lodge for organising a cheque for £200, thank you to Alan from Onward Lodge for organising another cheque for £200 and thank you to Gil from Loyal City Lodge for helping to raise a cheque for £100. 

Centrica HRL sponsored collected and raised £400 – thanks to each and every one of you.  CHC sponsored us £250 and thanks to Busy Bus for the £95.  Thanks to the YHA for giving us free membership for the walk.

Thank you to ASDA Queensferry for donating £30 worth of food (as we were self catering).  We would also like to thank Sarah Smith of Tesco Macclesfield for agreeing to help us in some way for the second weeks food etc – however NOT thanks to Joy Swindle, ‘Customer Services’, from Tesco Macclesfield who later rescinded that offer...

A big heartfelt thanks to the many, many individuals who have supported us and donated over the last 18 months, without all of you I would be looking quite embarrassed when I hand over the cheque to the RNLI.

On a personal note I would like to thank Paramo Clothing for providing me with full waterproof kit at cost price and to Millets Chester who gave me a very nice discount when I bought my kit for the original walk.

And now for the diary of the walk:

DAY 1:

We left Ennerdale YHA this morning at 08.30 hrs and drove to St Bee's where we met with Simon Mason who, owing to his inability to put his bottom into a forward gear, had arrived at St Bee's at 03.30 hrs Monday morning and had slept under a wooden play area next door to the St Bee's Lifeboat Station.  In accordance with the Wainwright rules we 'wet our boots' in the sea and we also collected stones and pebbles to be transported to Robin Hoods Bay at the end of the walk.  The weather was pretty horrible this morning and those of us who weren't in our waterproofs quickly put them on but we were still soaked.  Needless to say, once our waterproofs were on, the wind blew the clouds away and the sun came out!  We all managed really well and even the Silver Fox (Kevin) kept up most of the time.  Steve Sandman has excelled in his 'toilet roll monitor' duties and Adam has been excellent in the navigation department.  We covered 14 miles in just over 5 hours and we are now happily seated in the beautiful common room of Ennerdale YHA once again... beer in hand.  Hopefully we can report in again tomorrow once we are at Borrowdale YHA.  See ya ;-)

DAY 2:

I realised this morning that I do not have enough clean boxers to last me until this weekend...  Other than that - ALL IS WELL!  We've hiked from Ennerdale YHA and now we are currently residing in Borrowdale YHA.  The walk itself was fairly spectacular today; we passed Black Sail and Black Sail YHA and then trekked up and over Loft Beck which is about 1200 feet high.  We then moved down through Honister and into Borrowdale.  Again, we made quick time today and so we can relax even longer - especially as we have over 3000 feet to ascend tomorrow.  The Youth Hostel here isn't as fancy as Ennerdale and the girl on front desk is a bit miserable.  The Reverand, Steve Sadman, walked today with his waterproof trousers on back to front - AGAIN!  Everyone else is ok, just a bit tired and sore.  Ken, our driver, is as usual a wonderful example of kindness and optimisim... he's just called the Rev a very rude word for spilling the milk everywhere.  The Silver Fox has retired for a while and Mason is currently trying to find his way out of a long corridor with lots of doors.  See ya ;-)

Day 3:

I have to be quick!  Mason map read and got us lost.  Weather horrific so we're all wet and miserable.  Reverend had a hang over but did manage to put his trousers on the right way round - Mason didn't.  So much rain all footpaths are now streams.  Boggy ground everywhere.  Off for tea.  See ya :-)

Day 4:

After our previous day from hell we retired to bed quite early as we were all quite grumpy and in need of sleep. Unfortunately, the morning didn't bring any respite as the "Drying Room" in Grasmere YHA should be more adequately called "Moist Room"; all of our clothes were still soaked and to complement this we now smelt of other peoples armpits and verucas!!!  As we headed out for a 15 mile hike there wasn't much conversation in the bus even Ken, our morale officer and bus driver, couldn't dissuade our lethargy.  After Mason's disastrous attempts at map reading the day before Adam decided he should take over as navigator and he did a spectacular job... of getting us lost again.  However, Adam sneakily handed Mason the map as soon as he realised his mistake - therefore poor Mason took the blame again.  We ended up trekking up a 650 foot hill only to realise it was the wrong one and when we reached this summit we were greeted with a more hell-like mound in the grim distance.  Nevertheless we trudged on and ended up walking into thick cloud, this time Mason didn't get us lost and kept us on the right track.  While in the thick cloud the Reverend nipped off to 'search for god' - we think he just went for a sneaky pee.  As we began our descent the sun came out to great us and the last 10 miles were very comfortable and we were able to dry our wet walking clothes off of the back of our rucksacks.  We spent the night at Kendal YHA which wasn't the best, but it was round the corner from the local Weatherspoons!  Yay!

Day 5:

Possibly our worst day to date.  We had 21 miles to hike to reach our campsite in Kirkby Stephen and we managed to set off in dry kit but wet boots.  Our first 10 minutes were spent standing on the footbridge over the M6 waving at cars like strangely deranged school children; we were rewarded with many gestures in return (a great many rude) and the highlight was the lorry who honked his horn.  It was this day that we realised that no matter how much you spend on 'waterproof' and 'breathable' clothing the end result is the same:  when the wind and rain are lashing at you while you yomp over the moors they're all pretty useless.  At 15.00 hrs we still had 9 miles and a couple of 1000 foot ascents to go and we were really feeling the pain.  Nevertheless we pushed on and found the energy to complete the last 9 miles in 3 hours.  Upon arrival at the campsite we found our tents already erect and several visitors eagerly awaiting our arrival.  They were primarily eager to berate me for choosing to camp in such horrific weather.  Paul Stevens and Chris Jones had arrived with our kit as well as my neighbours Steve, Graham and Ellie.  All were equally unimpressed with the weather.  After we got changed we went to possibly the last 'proper' pub in England.  The name of this pub is Croglin Castle Hotel (South Road, Kirkby Stephen) and we all thoroughly recommend the excellent food, beer, warm fire and friendly reception.  Everyone drifted off to their tents as they grew more tired, I had to be escorted back to mine by some kind hearted souls...

Day 6:

I woke up feeling slightly groggy as did Joan who had contracted Catalan Flu (not as savage as the Spanish Flu that killed 19 million in the early 20th Century).  While chatting with a gent in the toilets (we ask no questions) the Silver Fox discovered that all of the high ground was completely washed out due to the foul weather and he was told to use the roads instead.  Once again we set out in damp kit and low moods; the weather appeared to match our mental state:  dull, foggy and minging.  However, something happened this day as we all found walking a lot easier, it wasn't mainly due to walking on tarmac (which is quite sole-destroying) but I think we all realised that we should make the best of what we were doing despite the bad conditions.  With this in mind we decided not just to complete the planned 11 miles hiking but to push on as far as we could into the next day too (an additional 12 miles) which we did!  23 miles in one day!!!  We were met at lunch by Paul & Fiona who also brought Sandra, my step-mom, up to see us too.  Upon returning to the campsite we were quite euphoric and even more so when we realised that even more people had come to visit us.  Yet, as soon I stepped out of the bus I was given a barrage of abuse for camping in such naff weather; therefore, the low popularity I suffered the previous night decreased even more.  Even my dog (who came up with my lass Lauren) gave me a reproachful stare.  As the night wore on and the drink flowed freely (once again thank you to the manageress of Croglin Castle Hotel) I was soon forgiven... nearly.

Day 7:

We woke up feeling really, really rough.  Hung-over doesn't even begin to describe what we felt like.  Yet we were chuffed that we had a day off.  With the help of Kath, Dennis, James (up the Khan!), Carole, Steph, Chris and Paul we managed to get the tents down relatively quickly and we were soon on our way to a camping barn in Richmond.  The camping barn was very basic but very, very well kept, clean and in good condition.  We lazed away the rest of this day and thought only of our next few days walking.  Unfortunately, I had now contracted the Catalan Flu from Jo and several other people were now looking to have similar symptoms.  Lauren and Marion (my lass and the Silver Fox's wife) were staying with us so we had Boomer and the monster known as Izzy staying too.  We would like to say a big thank you to Denby Dale Pie Company for providing us with three massive and fantastic pies (filled with meaty goodness)  we all agreed they were the best we'd ever tasted.  After retiring to bed quite early - the blokes in one bunk room and the girls n dogs in the other - I realised that I was in the company of the Coast to Coast All Male Nasal Choir and I couldn't sleep due to the horrific snoring, snorting, and teeth clicking with the occasional accompanied farting that was taking place in our room.  Rather than commit a multiple homicide I took myself off into the kitchen to read.

Day 8:

Once again we were greeted by cloud but we were in quite good spirits.  Due to the fact that all of the footpaths on the ridges were washed out we hit the road again and pushed on as hard as we could.  Myself and the Reverend got quite far ahead of the group and I even had a lovely 20 minutes outside of a public convenience while the Rev Sandman 'exorcised a demon' inside.  By mid afternoon the weather was quite acceptable and by the end of the day we had completed another 24 miles, thus putting us quite far ahead of schedule.  Upon returning to the camping barn Marion cooked us tea and we again retired to bed quite early.  The ladies had allowed me to sleep in with them because I couldn't sleep the night before but I didn't realise that Marion was, in fact, a soloist working with the Coast to Coast All Male Nasal Choir and I was treated to several new versions of what I'd been subjected to the night before...

Day 9:

With the clouds still above and the rain still dashing down we once again dragged ourselves out of bed early to get another long day of walking out of the way.  The day passed without much event.  16.5 miles later and an ascent of 1250 feet we ended the day on a high (please excuse the pun).  From the glimpses we could see from in-between the cloud the whole of North Yorkshire lay before us but that was few and far between.  Another lovely meal and several sociable beers passed away the evening and we went to bed early as we had to pack up and leave the camping barn in order to take the one hour bus transfer to where we finished the day before.  During the night I caught Boomer stealing my opened sleeping bag off of me by using his teeth!  The tunes of the Nasal Choir (plus soloist) continued.

Day 10:

This morning greeted us with an incredibly strange orb floating in the sky above.  As we all stumbled out of our beds we huddled together in both fear and trepidation.  The disc in the sky seemed to chase away the clouds, give off bright light and a semblance of heat...  The Rev immediately fell to his knees and began to pray to god and the rest of us looked on.  Eventually we realised that the orb was, of course, the SUN!!!  After nearly a week of not seeing it we were shocked by its presence.  Needless to say we were filled with much happiness and we left the camping barn early with the bus loaded with ourselves and our kit.  Once again we had another fantastic day of walking and pushed on another 19 miles in, mostly, good weather.  That means that we are now only 25 miles from our destination and we will now be finishing our walk one day early.  Yes that's right, one day early!  By the end of this Friday we will have completed the Coast to Coast trail and I think we all thoroughly deserve it.  Only myself an Jo do not have problems with our feet but we are both still heavily infected with the Catalan Flu.  The other walkers have all got varying problems with their feet, the most severe being the Silver Fox who looks as though he will loose at least five of his toe-nails.  We are pretty much battered mentally and physically yet we still continue to enjoy ourselves - mainly due to the humour of our driver Ken.  We are now staying at Boggle Hole YHA (thanks to Osmotherly YHA for allowing us to transfer our booking across) and we will soon be retreating off to bed and I do not know if I will be allowed to nick the YHA computer for another night... so time for one last story:

During dinner we dared the Rev to finish off all of the pasta and sauce that was left (a huge amount).  Being a good Catholic he quickly gave into peer pressure and ate the lot.  About an hour later (while I have been typing this) the Rev approached the YHA Staff and told them very politely that he had just blocked their toilet...  I've just watched him disappear back inside with a stick and an embarrassed expression. 

So, readers (if anyone is reading this that is)...  in two days time we will have completed our 192 mile challenge.  A challenge that has been made easier for me by good companions, the use of the bus and Ken our driver.  In two days time we can splash about in the North Sea and be able to claim that we completed one of the worlds top five walks.  In two days time I will be able to say "this was for you Dad."  See ya :-)

Sunday 14 September:

I’m now sat at home updating the website and thinking how strange it is to be back in civilisation.  We did, of course, complete the Coast to Coast Hike.  While I sip at my coffee a day after returning home it now seems like a dream.  For the last two weeks we have hiked, climbed, limped and cursed while we have been battered by the elements.  I know that several times over the last two weeks I have personally wanted to get into the bus and come home without completing the walk; there were times when we were stood huddled together and the rain washed over us, through our ‘waterproofs’ and into our boots.  I know this walk isn’t the most extreme in the world but it has been the most extreme test I have ever taken.  One I am proud to have completed.  The strength for me came from knowing I was doing this for the RNLI, for each and every one of you who have sponsored us and, of course for my Dad.  God knows where the other 5 walkers found their strength. 

All I know is that without Adam, Kevin, Jo, Mason and the Reverend I couldn’t have continued walking.  Without Ken and the bus our task would have been a lot harder.  Gentlemen, people have said Dad would be proud of me for doing this yet I know he would have been proud and grateful to each of you for supporting me literally every step of the way.

When we did limp down into Robin Hood’s Bay I found the finish to be a bit of an anit-climax – I don’t know what I was expecting but I imagined people lining the streets clapping, this didn’t happen.  However, Marion Hoines and Lauren Hoines were there as was my Mum and Step-Dad, Admiral Figg, and, of course, Boomer and Izzy.  We wet our boots in the sea and hugged each other for the joy of completing the walk.  We then found the Wainwright’s bar... need I say more?

Thank you all for your support.

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