Update to The Parish Walk, Isle of Man

The Parish Walk, Isle of Man
85 miles in 24 hours 20th June 2009


Yes I did it. It was so hard and it took me 23.37.11 hours. 187 people finished the 85 mile race and I was joint 181 with Paul. Some 1,620 began the race at 8am on Saturday morning and it was excellent weather for the 24 hours. This is a big event on this lovely Island where the community is totally involved. I met so many nice people along the route all giving you moral support. At Bride I passed a house where the owners where handing out mugs of green pea soup, it was fantastic as it was a late hour at night. Along the way families were handing out all sorts of food and drinks which was greatly appreciated. The streach of the walk from Maughold to Lonan -11.5 miles - in the darkness was hard but at around 3.15am on a still morning the dawn began to appear and with it the Dawn Chorus, a perfect tonic for me to continue this hard race and to finish it within the 24 hour window. My plan worked and I achieved my goal. Thank you to the Ryder family, my back up team of Michelle and Gerry whose support from Peel was sheer magic.

Thanks also to the organisors of this great walk.

I will be back next year!

My Next 3 Treks

The Parish Walk, Isle of Man
85 miles in 24 hours 20th June 2009
The Zugspitze, Germany
4th July 2009
Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge
18th July 2009


The current economic conditions make it very difficult for charities to raise monies for all the good work they do and I greatly appreciate all the generous support I have received from backers for good causes over the years. 2009 is a special year for me and once again I would like to back a worthy charity in the form of The Children’s Adventure Farm Trust. Here all the money I raise will go to kids and young people who do need help in life.



Can I walk 85 miles in 24 hours? This I do not know but I have done two 40 mile walks and I have trained hard. There are some 1,600 entrants for this walk round the coast of Isle on Man so I will have plenty of company as I try my very best to get round. In July I am endeavouring to get to the top of The Zugspitze with its towering summit at 2,916m (9,720ft) on the frontier between Austria and Germany . It is Germany ’s highest mountain. Later in July I am going to attempt the Yorkshire three Peaks Challenge, walking to the tops of Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-Y-Ghent in twelve hours.



The Children’s Adventure Farm Trust is an amazing charity based in Cheshire . They provide holidays and day trips to approximately 3,000 terminally ill, disabled and disadvantaged children each year. The children visiting The Adventure Farm have such difficult lives, facing challenges on a daily basis that most of us couldn’t imagine. The Adventure Farm gives these children the opportunity to be children – to laugh, to play and to have fun. Their aim is to give these children memories of childhood which they can treasure in their darkest times, but they can only do this with our help. The charity must raise £750,000 in 2009 in order to provide these life-changing opportunities to children in desperate need. They receive no government funding and rely entirely on donations from the public. I feel honoured to be working with this wonderful charity, and I hope you can help me to raise vital funds which will change the lives of these children who deserve the very best.

Donations can be made by clicking here


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