Here at the Macmillan Community Team, we’ve noticed that lots of our Community members are taking on challenges and organising events to raise money for Macmillan and other charities. We wanted to have somewhere to celebrate these events, so we’ve created this brand new blog.
To kick things off, here’s Paddyman to tell you about his recent Miles for Macmillan walk over the Severn Bridge.
Friends of mine decided to do the Race for Life and in a moment of madness I thought I might join them, but when I heard that they were wearing pink tutus I had to back out. Pink is so not my colour and with three replacement knees I haven’t the legs for a tutu in any colour! It was suggested I do “Miles for Macmillan” instead.
Walking had been my favourite form of exercise, but as my fitness had fallen following three knee replacements, one and a half miles had become a struggle, especially if it involved hills and most walks in Wales do involve hills. I was advised to send for the Macmillan Move More pack which gave lots of useful advice and, with the encouragement of my oncology team, I gradually increased the distance and the difficulty of my walks until a distance of 6 to 8 miles was a pleasure (although my knees didn’t agree!).
There were some very tempting walks available in Wales including a walk along the old rail track from Blaenavon to Llanfoist, connecting two very important industrial heritage sites. As a gentle downhill walk through some beautiful countryside this is a walk for another day. A walk in Pembrokeshire was a little too far away and probably beyond my present fitness level, but maybe in future...?
The Severn Bridge
The M48 motorway crosses from Wales to England near where the River Wye joins the River Severn. Access to the Severn Bridge is via the Wye Bridge and there is a toll on this crossing, although cars only have to pay the £6 to come into Wales, crossing to England is free. In crossing from England to Wales obviously the £6 toll is paid to France! The two bridges were designed by Freeman Fox and Partners and were opened in 1966. Both bridges incorporate a public cycle track/walkway on both sides of the bridge and no toll is payable on the walkway in either direction. So if you work in England and live in Wales you could save money by owning two cars and parking them at either side of the bridge, then walking across the bridge. This would result in a saving of over £1500 per year. (Before committing yourself to this plan, you should read on first.)
I had promised myself that I would walk across the Severn Bridge one day and that became my chosen project. At five and a half miles it was well within my capability, even though there was a steep climb at the Aust side. We had tried to walk across when the family were young, but as we got to the exposed part of the bridge the mother-in-law’s hat blew off and across the carriageway where it was promptly flattened by an oncoming lorry and carried away in the slipstream so we had to abandon the walk (mother-in-law felt undressed).
Fundraising
I registered for the walk and set up a just giving page, since many of my friends and family live far away. This is the first time I had done anything like this and when it came to setting a target I had no idea how generous people would be, and set my target on line as £50; this was smashed the first day and I had to raise my target to £100, then £200 and eventually £800!
I heard nothing from Macmillan until 4 weeks before the event, when I was sent advice on diet and training as well as the advice on what should be in my rucksack. Since my training had started last September and my diet was set by my diabetes, I had that well in hand. But map? Compass? OK, I realise that there are more strenuous walks where a map and compass, may be needed but for crossing a Bridge??? If you take a wrong turning crossing a bridge you are likely to get your feet wet, or in the case of the River Severn, you hair wet as well. Actually, this isn’t likely to be your main concern since it will take a little time to get your feet wet; even at high tide the water is some 60 feet below.
There was a useful poster in the booklet, and this would have been very useful when I started collecting sponsorship, since I had forms in the local Post Office, and U3A Group.
The day of the walk
The organisation of the walk was excellent. Car parking had been arranged at Riverside Court, a new development in Chepstow near the access to the bridge and volunteers were busy putting up direction signs. The car park there had a clear view of the two bridges; well not exactly clear, but you could see them through the drizzle. The registration had been set up outside a Dental Practice, a building which had so many rooms that you could have each tooth out in a different room and still have more rooms for having you false teeth fitted. Chepstow people must have the best teeth in the Country.
There was an ambulance, Search and Rescue, with a worrying inflatable boat on the roof and a myriad of stewards and first aiders including two on cycles who could get to any emergency quickly. And to entertain us while we waited for the start there was Matt Lane of Mountain Radio and coffee available from the back of a van by a couple who normally provide a mobile sandwich service to local offices.
Registration was quick, since we had all filled in the paperwork beforehand and I was issued with a number and a plastic wallet which also included medical details in case of emergency. Ominously, my number was 13! We were then issued with a green poncho, a “Miles for Macmillan” Tee shirt, a bottle of water and a banana. I took my time pondering over the size of Tee shirt because it was raining and registration was in the dry. Before we set off we had a pep talk from Paula who organised the event and then we were introduced to Caroline who was going to take us through some warm up exercises. This started simply enough with some gentle stretching and flexing of the joints but then became more serious with legs and arms moving in directions which did not appear possible and my three knees said no! no! no! So I moved away from the group to take photographs. There was someone there taking photos of people and events, whom I took to be an official photographer.
Setting off
We were a motley bunch who set off promptly at 11.00, a mixture of friends and families, some with young children; one small girl had brought along her scooter and I wondered if Dad would have to carry it at the end. My daughter, who had brought me to Chepstow, decided she wasn’t going to hang around for two hours and came with me. As if to encourage us (or rather lure us) the rain had stopped just before we set off.
We climbed the path leading up to the cycle track on the upstream side of the bridge. This track was below the level of the carriage way which shielded us somewhat from the prevailing wind blowing upstream. After we crossed the Wye Bridge we reached England, well we were above English soil and it would be another mile or so before we could put foot on this English soil. Below us was the Army Cadet School at Beachley and it was here we came under fire, not from the army but from the ever present rain clouds. It was too wet to take a photo of the cannon pointing at the bridge and at this point my well-prepared daughter put on her waterproof leggings whilst I got wet. The leggings were very effective and the rain stopped immediately.
Over the River Severn
When we reached the River Severn we could see the old slipway which was used by the Ferry boat in operation before the bridge was built and nearby the “Ferryboat Inn” which now relies on meals to attract visitors. The ferryboat men were all offered jobs on the new bridge when it first opened.
The river was at low tide; the tide here has a rise and fall of 40 feet, so the bridge was now about 100 feet above the water. Low water allowed us to see the land formations in the estuary with all the curved and twisted layers. It is this high tidal flow which makes the Severn Estuary eminently suitable as a source for renewable energy generation. However this is a controversial project since it would reduce tidal range above the barrier and it is feared that this would affect important wetland habitats upstream.
We could see Berkeley Nuclear Power Station through the remains of the drizzle, and across the water was our destination high up on the cliff.
An uphill climb
As we reached the first tower, we met the first group of stewards who were cheering us on our way; we were in no danger of breaking the 10 MPH speed limit imposed at this point. The rise was steady and not at all onerous, especially since there we took numerous stops to admire the view and take photographs. It was shortly after the second tower that we met a couple coming back; this was strange since the return route was via the other pathway. As we neared the end of the bridge there was another group of stewards with their dog, and then there was the steep climb from the roundabout up to the services.
I have climbed steeper hills, and I had never regarded this as steep in the car, but perhaps age and the long walk over the bridge made it seem steeper than it actually was. I was looking forward to a cup of coffee at the services and a sit down, but we were given another bottle of water and diverted down some steps to cross over the motorway by a footbridge above the toll booths. It was at this point that the banana was needed to give that extra boost for the return journey. We were returning via the walkway on the downstream side of the bridge and this accounted for the fact that we had not met the English contingent as we crossed the bridge. A few boulders at the start of the path provided a welcome rest point and a family were picnicking there.
If we got wet on the outward journey, we were about to be blow dried on the return journey as we moved onto the bridge. Helen’s pony tail acted as a wind sock to show the wind direction which was very definitely upstream!
The main point of interest downstream was the Second Severn Crossing, about 5 miles away, which carries the M4 motorway across the river. Opened in 1996 it was much longer than the Severn Bridge Crossing and being a more direct route, shortened the distance from South Wales to London and the West of England.
But there was a much clearer view of the twisted structure of the river bed here and also the remains of what appeared to be an old fishing installation. The River Severn is a rich source of salmon as they head to their spawning grounds up its many tributaries and especially when they are returning to the sea. My favourite fishing method was the use of putches which seemed a lovely lazy way to catch fish. A structure is built on which are mounted the putches; these are conical funnels in basket work which trap the larger fish on the ebb tide and then these are just lifted from the baskets at low tide.
When we reached the spit of land between the Severn and Wye rivers, just before the Wye flowed into the Severn, we could see the buildings and a small rifle range belonging to the Army Cadet School. Then it was onto the Wye Bridge and our pace quickened as we neared the finish line, down a short wooded path under the Motorway and back up to the Registration Area.
The finish line
Paula and the team were still waiting for a few stragglers after two and a half hours. I was congratulated and given a medal and certificate. The coffee van was packing up but managed to make us two cups of coffee.
Someone had suggested to Paula that I might help out on future events, but I was reluctant to commit since I was already over-committed in other organisations.
We said how much we had enjoyed the walk and would do it or something similar next year; it was too much to ask friends and family to dig deep more than once a year. A friend had done the walk previously for another charity and said how tough he found it. After the walk I understood what he meant.
Chepstow had put the flags out for us, although someone suggested they might have been for the Jubilee. We had a lovely Sunday Lunch opposite the castle where I also had apple tart and ice-cream; this turned out to be caramel apple tart so I hope my diabetic nurse doesn’t read this.
After lunch, my daughter suggested that Chepstow had some lovely Heritage Trails, and so I was dragged along to do an extra mile for Macmillan. This time the weather had improved and it was mostly on the flat. Overall a very enjoyable day.
Thank you to all my friends and family for the support and encouragement and especially the sponsorship which raised £870 for Macmillan and thankyou to Macmillan for enabling this wonderful online community where so much good advice can be found.
