Their story, in their words…
Our journey really began the moment we stepped onto the coach that took us to Swindon from Victoria. After almost 3 hours we then took a bus from Swindon to help us reach Avebury, the start of the next 5 days and one of the hardest challenges we’ve had to pull through this year.
On day one we were able to see the wildlife and animals as we made our way to Ogbourne St George. After over 10 miles we had arrived and experienced our first night of wild camping. Even at this point we had felt almost defeated and exhausted but we knew this meant completing the Ridgeway hike would be that more rewarding.
The next day we had no time to waste as we headed back on the ridgeway trail to our next point, Wantage. This is where we stayed one night at the Court hill centre. At the end of the long day we were able to have a proper shower and sleep which relieved any pain that we felt and gave us the relaxation we needed to keep on going the next day.
For day 3 we walked at least another 10 miles east to Wallingford, where we stayed at our final campsite, Ridgeway view campsite. This day was definitely a challenge as it was raining for the last few days and our trail had consisted of mud. It was hard to push ourselves on. I would 100% say if we weren’t together and hadn’t used our teamwork, we wouldn’t have been able to finish in time.
For the final 2 days we hiked around 30 miles. On the fourth night we had to set up our tent to get ready to wild camp again at Wallington. While we did wake up sore and uncomfortable, we were also ecstatic as it meant that we were going to complete our goal and go home that same day. Walking through Chiltern Hills we arrived at Ivinghoe beacon, the end of the ridgeway trail. From Tring station we began our way back to London feeling so proud of each other. Even after days of being exhausted, lost and confused, we kept persevering and showing more determination than ever.
We are so thankful for the Mark Evison Foundation allowing us to experience such an amazing opportunity. Although we weren’t blessed with good weather we are glad to have tried something new all together.
