Snowdon Rocks 2/Rainford-Rhyl Walk

Jean Genie · Snowdon Rocks 2/Rainford-Rhyl Walk

Hi folks. Just to let you know about a couple of events I've got on my calendar in the next couple of weeks for Love Hope Strength Foundation. I'm sure you will remember last year, my family did a local walk for them and raised over £300. (Thanks to those of you on here who donated for that event.. as you can see, we did well!) This time around, I'm going out of my comfort zone with a walk up Snowdon on 21 June, and next month I'm taking part in a three day walk from Rainford to Rhyl on the weekend of 11-13 July. Some of you have already pledged money and I'm grateful for that, but I still appeal for others to donate. There is an online page for donations, and please gift aid if you are UK tax payer.

Thanks again for all those who have shown such great support to this worthy cause, and let's keep up the fight against cancer/leukaemia.

Here is my justgiving page address..

www.justgiving.com/shirleygibson1

All monies are going to the Love Hope Strength Foundation from both events. There isn't an online page for the Snowdon event, but get in touch via pm if you want to sponsor me for that event separately. Cheers.

Jean Genie

I managed to raise about £250 from the Snowdon trek last weekend. Thanks to everyone who offered messages of support and encouragement, they were greatly appreciated. The weather was at its worst, heavy and persistent rain and strong winds doesn't make a good combination as you venture up a mountain on foot I can tell you.

Just a couple of weeks to go before the Rainford to Rhyl adventure. Let's hope that we have better conditions this time around. Thanks again to all those who have donated so far. I think the webpage will be online for a couple of weeks after the event, but I will update you on this.

Jean Genie

Hi folks.. Walk is successfully (all be it painfully!) completed. I had a couple of nasty blisters on my little toes to deal with for the bulk of the walk. It was great to catch up with Darren en route. Thankfully the weather was pretty good in the main, especially yesterday when the sun shone for the duration from Mostyn to Rhyl. Photos will soon be online, so hopefully will be able to share them here before too long. It was an amazing few days, relieved to have done it.. but promising myself to do something a little less crazy next time around..

Thank yous have to go to:

Keith, for his help and support along the way. Without a walking buddy, this would have been impossible. Darren, for the logistical support both on and offline. Everyone here (and on other forums) who have offered both donations and messages of encouragement. Mike Peters, his is the yardstick for all others to follow when attempting something like this.. after all this has got to be a drop in the ocean compared to what he has lined up! Katrina.. I guess for similar reasons to those which I've listed for MP, not forgetting the constant recommendations for the use of peppermint foot cream! Thanks too to those who met us on our way, and to those who recognised the t-shirt and Snowdon Trekker laminated pass. It was lovely just to see folk waving and beeping at us - not sure if they were regulars on the Alarm forums, but it was nice for them to acknowledge what we were doing.

For those who haven't donated yet, but would like to, the justgiving page is still online. Thanks again to all those who have already done so..

www.justgiving.com/shirleygibson1

happycat30

As said before - well done !!! Great work in fact ! Big hugs, Kerstin

Loretta

Well done Shirl Very Happy

AFARR

Knew ya could do it Shirl!! Very Happy

Well done to both you and Keith!! Cool

I think a celebratory knees up is needed don't you...but a well earned rest first I think!!

See ya soon and well done again. How many miles was it in the end?

Andrea & Jim x x Razz

Jean Genie

A celebratory night out could be on the cards very soon. I will keep you posted about the details when something is arranged. I'm not sure of the exact mileage covered, we thought it would be in the region of 50, but we now think that it was more than that. Here is a report I've posted on both the Hack and Sosimpleminded..

Thank you.. It was so tough, although I'm delighted to say that we made it!! The first day didn't start off as well as I wanted it to.. We made our way down Lords Fold to this field which had a public footpath through it. Going across the field wasn't a problem as the path was clear, but when we got to the end to turn right, there was tall grass etc everywhere. Our trousers and footwear got soaked, and I was not at my best.. Thankfully all clothing had time to dry out before we hit the East Lancs Road. Dinner was at McDonalds (Norris Green) before we continued through Walton Hall Park on the way towards Everton FC. We passed a Foot Care Clinic on the way, which brought an ironic smile to my face, as I think we could have both with a free consultation at that point!! Just passed Everton's ground, we called in at a pub called The Abbey, where we had our first half pint of the day. (Cue the reactions on the Strongbow advert!!) Then it was onwards and upwards as we went down Everton Valley on the way towards Liverpool city centre. We took a minor wrong turning at the end of Scotland Road, but soon corrected ourselves and managed to catch a ferry around 4.45pm. We had a quick cup of tea and started off down the A41. This was a bit of a trek to say the least.. We walked through Birkenhead and into Rock Ferry, where we called in for another pint before setting off towards New Ferry. Thankfully there was another McD's where we had refreshments before heading off again. The feet were fast becoming painful with the blistering (which we'd initially spotted at Walton Hall Park) and by the time we'd got to Eastham they finally burst. We had initially planned to stay at Eastham, but could only get in accommodation a mile up the road, so due to medical reasons our only option was to get a cab to the Premier Travel Inn at Childer Thornton.. (We did say we would walk to Eastham, and we did ) By this time we had been walking a full 12 hours. I didn't know what tiredness was until we got there.. and this was just the first day..

We contacted Darren the following morning, and he helped to solve some logistic issues. It's handy knowing someone who knows that area better than we do. There was a SMALL stretch (a couple of miles) that was impossible to pass by foot, and we had no knowledge to the conditioning of the pathway on the OS map, ie if it was passable at that time, so he put us right by getting us to the other side of Queensferry where we picked up the walk again. I hope all who sponsored us will understand the reasoning behind this. We certainly don't you to feel angry with us by putting health and safety first. Darren had expressed concern about this leg of the trip all along on another forum, and if we had taken the other option we may have still been walking now.. It certainly was a greater mileage than we had accounted for. On our walk along the way, and called in at a pub in Bagillt for a couple of halves each. The landlord/barman was a friendly chap. We didn't get his name, but we got chatting and explained our reasons for the walk. He mentioned that he remembers The Alarm playing at Holywell (Community Hall/Centre?} when they first started off.. not sure if it was a gig or rehearsals but it was many moons ago. We continued through the small towns on the Welsh coastal route (A548) past the sign of Boot End (always loved that place name!!) After what seemed like an eternity we reached the Mostyn Lodge Hotel, which was more like a hostel to be fair.. no towels and rates didn't include a cooked breakfast. (Though we were free to use a kitchen if we had brought our own stuff.. not what I had on my list of "things to pack" I'm afraid) Still we made the best of a bad situation and ordered from a Holywell takeaway for pizza and chips, and used t-shirts doubled up as hand towels..

After an hour and half we were greeted by a couple of familiar faces.. Juann called across from a car that had just parked up on the opposite side of the road.. "How's it going Shirl?" she asked. All was going ok, though the feet were getting increasingly sore, and we were now walking at a slower pace than we had hoped. Still we were still on our feet and determined to finish the walk however long it took us. We had a lovely chat then it was time to move on.. Thanks for looking out for us, and showing your support - it was a breath of fresh air at quite a difficult part of the walk. We were just 3 miles from Prestatyn, but it felt more like 30 at that moment in time!! We continued steadily on, and took another breather at the park just past the Nant Mill camp sites, if anyone knows that area. After then, it was over the bridge and on to Station Road, where we found an eat-in chippy.. Not what I had envisaged for brekkie or Sunday dinner, but hey ho.. and bliss!! We had a lovely fish dinner, then moved on to the station where Keith picked up a timetable for the train home the following day. This is when I phoned Michelle while I updated her on our progress. This is the part of the walk when I knew we were ok and going to do it. We had a short rest opposite the Ffrith pub, then walked on down towards Robin Hood. There was the sign "Croeso I Rhyl".. We had reached our goal!! Had we done the walk over 4 days, no doubt we would have put the banners out at the Town Hall, but this was good enough for us!! Photos will follow as soon as we can get them to you..
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