Their story, in their words…
On our hike, we went to Beer in Devon, where we camped for a week. We arrived on the Monday, when we set up our home for the week and went into the town for a bit of an explore before we began our week. On the Tuesday, we went to Branscombe, where we walked along the beach, which was beautiful, and had our lunch. We left at around 4:40 pm and got back to our camp, where we had some dinner and settled down before our 2nd hike.
On Wednesday, which was our longest day of walking, we went to Salcombe Regis and Sidbury, which was another lovely hike, although we came back ready to sit down and have a rest. This hike, being our longest, was the day that tested our limits the most, but we were able to make jokes and laugh together whilst pushing through the big hills and long stretches.
Thursday the 23rd, we set off a little later, as it was Freya’s birthday and we had a nice morning together preparing for our day ahead. We headed to Hazelwood, and on this hike we chose to listen to some music and sing along together, helping us to ignore our aching feet. We got back at around 6:30 pm, and had a chilled-out evening and an early night, as the long walks were beginning to get to us.
On Friday we headed along the cliffs, which was an amazing sight. We decided to take this hike a lot slower than the previous ones, which allowed us to really take in the views around us and the abnormal feeling of being on the edge of a cliff with our best friends, just enjoying the breeze we were getting.
On Saturday, which was our last day (I think we were all quite grateful for this fact after our long week), we went to Southleigh, which was a beautiful little rural town, where we sat for a while in a field and enjoyed a little picnic lunch, taking about our favorite moments of the trip and how we were all begining to feel reluctant about out long travel day that was coming. We took a relaxing hike back to Beer and began to pack our bags and get ready for our early morning on Sunday.
Finally, on Sunday, we packed up our camp, almost as if we were never there, and got our train and coach back to London Victoria, where we went our separate ways back home.
This hike was an amazing experience that we are so grateful to Mark Evison for funding. We first had to learn and figure out how exactly we were going to fundraise over £500, but we did it and are so thankful for our friends and family for helping us achieve that goal. This trip forced us to test our personal limits, yet enabled us to spend really amazing time with our best friends, where we were able to grow closer. We were able to learn about the reality of being responsible for everything ourselves and not having the luxury of relying on an adult, but that was able to give us a glimpse into what our futures will really look like. We felt so many emotions: stress, anger, pain, happiness, joy, and so many more, and best of all, we were able to joke and laugh together. This week really was a one of a kind expeience and we are eternally grateful.
