Sent from Tom Benyon Jnr to the Benyon family this morning: — There have been some amazing fund raising feats for Zane this month in the family. Milly and the boys have conquered the three peaks (https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Milly-Sinclair) Granny and Bubba are hiking the pathways of the UK as I write. But as we know these …
Category: 2016 Walk
Sep 14
Day 7: Worcester to Kington
We walk from Worcester where we have been right royally hosted for two days in a lovely house bang in the middle of the town. Off we trot on a muggy, overheated day towards Kington accompanied by Clendon and Camilla Daukes, loyal walkers over the years and fun to be with for we never stop …
Sep 13
Day 6: Rest Day
We took the day off which us just as well as it has deluged! This was the day we were reliably informed would be the warmest ever, so it sounds as if the forecasters are the same folk who forecast the Brexit result! We went in search of an iPad charger, having left the last …
Sep 12
Day 5: Into Worcester
Worcester Sores A miserable morning when everything seemed to go wrong: the fields were wired up, the gateways blocked with nettles, the paths in the Suckley wood eight miles from Worcester appeared to be circular and we were both convinced we were going in ever decreasing circles and would end up our backsides. Then after …
Sep 12
Day 4: Ullingswick to Worcester
Summer Nights The British appear to be immune to cold. I suppose this is just as well, as most of the time living in the UK is a bit like inhabiting the bottom of a well… Sixty years ago, Noel Coward memorably sang to his fellow colonials, “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the …
Sep 10
Day 3: Burghill to Ullingswick
Disaster fell! I awoke with the impression that my left knee cap had been kicked by a horse and when I arose I was hobbling and unable to bend it and I was no use to anyone. Suddenly it occurred to me that I was suffering an acute attack of gout. If any of my …
Sep 09
Day 2: Staunton to Burghill
Another lovely day’s walking, on our own this time. We passed a vast fruit farm and a small army of Bulgarian fruit pickers, all scurrying along and gesturing that they don’t speak English. Marcus, our Zimbabwean driver was surprised that whenever he stops in a village and parks by a verge, a spry pensioner often …
Sep 08
Day 1: Hay to Staunton
We can’t complain about the start of the walk. We were welcomed in Hay on Wye by the newly elected Chris Davies, MP for Brecon and Radnorshire and a leading Conservative luminary, Roger White. The loon who devised out first day walking is clearly out on day release and the sooner he is incarcerated again …
Sep 07
The Day Before: A Letter from Cathy
Cathy is a long-standing friend of ZANE Dear Tom and Jane, As you set out on your latest walk for ZANE I thought this story might be of interest to you and the people you meet along the way who may want to know what life’s like in Zimbabwe in 2016. On a recent weekend …