Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Our car-buying expert is walking to Anglesey for the Mission Motorsport charity. Here’s his report from the first day of the trek
You left me last time with wet boots, praying for drier days. Sadly, the next day was the very opposite. Once I descended to the Thames flood plain, surface water sat atop saturated fields.
Eventually, I came across one flood so deep that, even with my improvised wading solution (i.e. bin bags), water still came in over the top.
The only way round was a huge detour, so I pushed through the water, then sat for half an hour vainly trying to dry my socks and boots in the sun.
The prospect of 10 miles left to go with sopping wet boots didn’t fill me with joy, while my heart sank further when I found the next field was also underwater. I re-routed – but that footpath, too, was inundated. In the end I had no choice other than to retreat to the roads, which I followed to Burford.
The next morning, it was raining hard when I set out, with Storm Ashley was in full force as I crossed the hills between Taynton and Little Rissington airfield.
Luckily I was fully waterproofed, but my still-damp boots (despite having left them on the radiator all night) didn’t get much of a chance to dry off.
The weather soon cleared, though, leaving soaring views of the Gloucestershire countryside as I wound my way towards Stow-on-the-Wold, where I met up with my support crew. John, a friend and former colleague, was waiting in a Volkswagen Grand California camper, ready to supply me with fresh clothes and take away those I’d been carrying for the past three days.
The next day’s hike to Chipping Campden was relatively trouble-free. While there were plenty of hills to keep me busy, I was pleased the high ground meant no more flooding.
Today, the going was flatter en route to Bidford-on-Avon. I was joined by Jonathan Marks, who helps organise the National Transition Event, a festival of motorsport and employment held by Mission Motorsport at Silverstone, where service leavers can talk to prospective employers about what might come next. The company was appreciated — as were the sandwiches and sausage rolls Jonathan brought.
Tomorrow I’ll head to Redditch, and then on to Halesowen and Wolverhampton after that. I’ll be hoping and praying for no more flooding…
I was expecting a lump in my throat as I left Mission Motorsport’s HQ. The charity’s team had seen me off with tea and home-made cake and my parents had come along to lend moral support.
But as it turned out, I felt excited. This thing I’ve spent the last 18 months thinking about, training for and organising was finally happening.
And beneath a the surprisingly warm autumn sun, as the first few miles through the Oxfordshire countryside passed gently under my feet, I was enjoying myself. But the ground soon started to get boggy – a foreshadowing of events to come.
I’ve got good boots, but making way with my feet slipping around was still tricky. And picking my way across ploughed fields where the footpaths on the map were indistinguishable, tougher still.
One field I trudged through felt like marshland. But my Hoka hiking boots did the job of keeping the water out.
Unfortunately, what they couldn’t contend with was the shin-deep flood that surrounded a farmer’s gate about a mile from the end.
A detour would have added three or four miles. There was no alternative – I’d have to plunge through it. The muddy water spilled over the tops of my boots as I fought with the gate. On the other side, I sat down and poured out as much as I could.
The rest of the first day had something of a squelch to it, but I arrived at my digs for the night without further event. I set my boots beneath the heater in the vain hope they might dry before the second day.
I had a feeling I’d get wet feet before the end of this trip – I just didn’t expect them so soon!
You can help support Alex’s cause by donating to his Just Giving fundraiser
My plan is to arrive in Anglesey in time for Remembrance Weekend, during which Mission Motorsport will hold its annual Race of Remembrance.
It’s a very special event; a 12-hour endurance race that pauses for a service of remembrance on the Sunday morning, simultaneously honouring our war dead while raising money to support Armed Forces veterans wounded or injured during their service.
That’s what Mission Motorsport does. It was established by former tank commander James Cameron in 2012, with the express aim of supporting the Armed Forces community through motorsport.
That might sound slightly nebulous, although having spent some time with those it has helped I’m only too pleased to say it’s anything but. Remarkably effective, too.
Sport, as Cameron points out whenever I see him, is an incredible way of bringing people together. Through its activities, Mission Motorsport can give veterans who’ve had their lives torn apart the space to rebuild, whether that be in terms of their physical or mental health, or by helping them to build new careers – and new lives – outside of the services.
Having seen their work up close repeatedly in my time as a motoring journalist, it’s a charity for which I’ve gained huge admiration. So when, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Race of Remembrance had to be called off, with Mission Motorsport encouraging its supporters to undertake their own endurance challenges in its place, the seed of an idea was sown.
A glance at the photos accompanying this piece will doubtless prove I’m a deeply un-athletic person, accustomed to sitting at home at my desk with a cup of tea, writing car reviews or answering questions from readers about their motoring maladies. It’s a charmed life, one that has left me feeling compelled to give something back.
But how? Running, cycling, mountain climbing – I probably wasn’t going to pull off a challenge that involved any one of these. Too much comfortable living. But the one thing I can do is walk. After all, I reasoned, I managed a few miles with my dog each day – surely I could go a bit further.
Just how much further? I had always wanted to visit the Race of Remembrance but never managed to. Here, however, was a golden opportunity – I’d just have to arrive on my own two feet. I looked up the distances involved: 250 miles, give or take, depending on my route. I could do that in three weeks, surely?
The 10th running of the Race seemed like the ideal opportunity, so a date of 2024 was set and 18 months ago I started training. My first “long” walk was five somewhat weary miles from my home to the next town; from there, I added a mile every few weeks, eventually reaching my goal of 15 per day.
If I could manage three, then six, days in the sunshine, maybe I could manage three weeks in the rain… OK, it’s still a bit of a leap of faith – but what big charity event isn’t?
I’ve no doubt that this will be hard. But the thought will drive me on that it won’t be half as hard as it’s been for the people I’m hoping to support.
Bookmark this page and check back to see how I get on. I’ll be reading the comments, so any words of support you can offer will spur me on. You can follow me on Instagram at @scrofwalks too. And if you want to donate to this amazing cause, you can do so at https://justgiving.com/page/alexwalks. My thanks in advance – I’ll see you out there.
You can help support Alex’s cause by donating to his Just Giving fundraiser
4/5
3/5
5/5
English