B
elhus Woods Country Park Aveley was agreed, meeting the necessary requirements of hav- ing free parking, a half way point and facili- ties, the work then commenced with Tony (and June) walking the Park and sur-
rounding areas to find a 7.5 mile route acceptable to the ―group‖. The next phase then starts with the completion of documentation and promo- tion with the support of Dick Palmer and the PR Group. We were fortunate this year to gain the support of Paul Freedman MBE, a long time supporter of the Hospice and local charity worker who agreed to start the
walk and collect on the two Fridays prior to the event outside Sainsbury‘s in Hornchurch with Club support in aid of the walk. The resultant collection gave a £1100 start to the event.
T
he marking up of the route is essen- tial, particularly this year as the Park contains numerous foot- paths and bridleways and you can easily become lost in this very large area as we found out when arrang- ing the route! Normally I
set out the route on the Saturday after- noon/evening but this was not felt wise due to the level of public use and I de- cided it could be done on the Sunday morning. A 5.30 am start would be nec- essary to ensure we completed marking up before the walk started and my small group of helpers (daughter and friends) gathered at the Park entrance – in total darkness- with the rain
just starting. In the open areas it was just about possible
to find our way but as soon as we entered the wooded areas I be- came completely lost and left my helpers to ―find‖ the path retuning 45 minutes later to a very bored group having got completely lost in the very wet unpleas- ant woods. We did eventually complete the marking up, not helped by very heavy rain, arriving back at the start well after the walk had commenced.
T I
he rain had more or less stopped by this
time and those who completed the
walk were happy with the route although many doubted that it was only 7.5 miles, having revisited the route they may well have been correct and a final distance of 8 miles would be nearer the actual distance covered.
never actually got to meet Paul Free- man and thank him for his contribution
to what looks like being our best year for some time with over £6000 having been received at the time of writing with still some sponsorship outstanding. I hope the Club will be able to show its thanks by inviting Paul to our meeting when the money raised is presented to the Hos- pice.
M
uch hard work and fellowship goes into putting the walk together each
year but without the support of the Club Members both in arranging the event and most importantly taking part and raising sponsorship we could not offer the es- sential support needed by the St Fancies Hospice to ensure it continues its essen- tial work in our local community.
Brian Taffs 11
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