Isle of Wight walk

Louise Hallett, our Founder, tells us about their walk around the Isle of Wight Coastal Path in July

Well we did it!

April and I walked 80 miles around the Isle of Wight coastal path at the end of July, and returned home feeling a terrific sense of achievement, both for having completed this challenge, and for having managed to raise the astonishing sum of over £60,000!!   And all thanks entirely to our amazingly wonderful and generous donors and supporters – thank you SO SO MUCH!
Truly, this will make an enormous difference to the work we are doing, helping vulnerable people who suffer from these debilitating enduring mental illnesses to live their best life.  BUT – we want to make even more of a difference, and anyone still willing to support our efforts can make a donation here – we would be enormously grateful.
Tennyson’s Monument
Tennyson’s Monument
Isle of Wight beach
Even when we started early, it was already hot ….
Isle of Wight rest
A much needed rest!

We had a great week on the whole, although struggled sometimes in the extreme heat of the first few days, specially on the long uphill climbs;  we got caught in a torrential downpour towards the end of our week, and ended up sheltering in the entertainment area of a campsite – although freezing cold and soaked through, there was lots to laugh about there!   Parts of the Coastal Path were in a fairly shocking condition, specially the bits when we had to fight our way through patches of thick gorse.   And there were some long stretches on the North Coast that were neither coastal nor path, along busy roads and fast traffic with no pavement which wasn’t much fun, but our visit to Osborne House made up for that – what a treat that was!   Fabulous.

Isle of Wight beaches
Endless miles of inaccessible sandy beaches ….
Lord Yarborouth Monument
The Lord Yarborouth Monument, near Bembridge

We had some wonderful moments, like when we asked someone at a bus stop for directions, and she gave us £2 for the charity and said “if I see you again, you’ve gone the wrong way”!    And free coffees from a very kind woman in a tiny café at the top of a hill when we were panting for a drink!

Osborne House, Cowes
Osborne House, Cowes
Osborne House - double desk
The double desk at Osborne House - touching.
Louise and April
Soaked through and still smiling!

The South Coast scenery was particularly stunning – carpets of wild flowers, hundreds of butterflies, glorious birdsong, and always looking longingly at the endless sandy beaches and flat calm sea, frustratingly inaccessible from the cliff.  But I did get a few swims in the blissfully warm sea.

Thick gorse
Thick gorse … I was in short sleeves! Ouch!
Yarmouth
We arrived back in Yarmouth! Walk done ….!!

It was an unforgettable week but really this is just to say the most ENORMOUS THANK YOU for your amazing support – really it means so much and will help so many people.

 

With love and gratitude,