It was my great pleasure to be a part of 3500toendit.com walking with Laurence on the northeastern coast of England for 5 days, supporting his amazing journey to eradicate cervical cancer through prevention and educational outreach. What a great tribute to his wife Melitta. We live in the same neighborhood as the Carter family in Bethesda, Maryland where Melitta was known and loved by all. Please consider supporting the campaign as Laurence heads for the finish line with less than 400 miles remaining.
Here is a small sample of notes and photos from the days I spent walking the coast:
Day 288, Saturday March 30: On the Wirral Peninsula
Walked to Hilbre Island, known as a tidal island. At low tide -- you walk more than a mile over hard packed sand directly to Hilbre island and, with careful planning, walk back before high tide *OR* risk staying the night, swimming back or drowning. Think Moses and the Red sea: led by Laurence with a coastal map in one hand and two iPhones in the other: we made our way safely there and back, with ample time for cheese sandwiches, hot tea and a cool elderflower cordial -- plus a telescopic glance at a fancy harem of sunbathing sea lions. The staff on Hilbre island were interested in 3500toendit.com – so a successful outreach campaign as well! Onward from this walk straight by car to the Cavern Club in Liverpool and the home of Beatlemania – too much to say about this so I will ‘Let It Be’ for now – but you can ‘Imagine’.
Day 289, Sunday March 31: Saltfleet to Cleethorpes
Full day of coastal walking and interpreting signs along the way:
Altogether: 9.1 miles, with amazing coastal views and meeting “Ruby” the horse being filmed on GoPro ridin’ like the wind:
Day 290, Monday April 1: Immingham to Cleethorpes
12 miles total with two professional staff members of Cancer Research UK, Heidi and Catherine. A bit tougher of a walk with sections of the coast lined with heavy industry (oil, gas and pharmaceutical companies) and colder winds. However, we learned a great deal about the latest developments in CRUK from our guest walkers and made many personal engagements with people along the way. Several people reached into their pockets and made generous donations to 3500toendit.com upon meeting Laurence and learning about his campaign: a win-win!
Speaking of fish & chips (sorry, middle picture), a great photo of an ‘entire fish’ & chips dinner from the Kings Head Inn & Pub (kingsheadinn.com – great place to stay).
Plus, on this trek, we were able to take a tribute photo to one originally found
on “the map” (we made the map for Laurence's going away party last June).
Day 291, Tuesday April 2: Cleethorpes to an English town I’ve never heard of - Skegness (18 miles of power-walking).
Endless amazing sights along the way, to include this sequence we affectionately referred to as “the Rotten Row”
Day 292: Wednesday April 3: Windsor: A bit of walking, but not for Laurence or I.
Lunch with Tanya at Two Brewers pub, a send off from the boys at Heathrow, then back to the US. Great Trip!
Laurence: I always knew you had the grit to do this. Even joining you for a few hours/days changes the way one looks at the world. So, now we will wait for a book from you on the thereapeutic impact of 3500 miles. Good luck for the very last bit. I have begun developing the metrics for evaluating the huge impact of this walk on all the young girls and boys (and of course on the oldies but goldies, too!!)---the social return of this endeavor is outstanding. Thanks again for opening a new window for me.