Announcement.....this is a non food post, ha ha. Today I have been out for a little bimble, 14.08 miles to be precise. My walking companion for this trip was Scott. Let me introduce you to Scott, he lives in Portsmouth. So what is he doing up here in my neck of the woods? Scott is about halfway through a long distance walk, and I mean a really long distance, he is walking much further than my piddling 162 miles. He is walking the whole of England and Wales, with the intention of visiting all 92 football grounds. So how long is it going to take him? He started on the 19th of August, and the planned finishing date is the 7th of April. That's an amazing seven and a half months of walking. Here we are on the south bank of the Humber at South Ferriby, where I joined him this morning.
So how did I get to know about Scott's challenging walk? He was on my favourite Radio Humberside show, Burnsy in the morning, on Friday, speaking from York. When he said he was heading in my direction I thought, aha, I think I will join him for a days walk. I got the bus and met up with him at 10am.
I wasn't sure of the route he had in mind, but I was able to take us away from a very busy and dangerous road full of heavy vehicles and no footpaths, onto a more quieter route of country lanes and paths. We turned up the side of the cement works and headed to Winterton.
In Winterton there is a lovely little community cafe, run entirely by volunteers. We had a very welcome break at The Cornerstone Cafe.
From there we took minor roads through Thealby and Normanby, and made a short sandwich break at the lovely Normanby Hall. We were sticking to roads because of the heavy back pack that Scott was carrying, far easier for him to stride along on a solid tarmac surface. Coming into Scunthorpe we took a short diversion through Foxhills Industrial Estate, to cut a corner and to get on some quieter roads. The North Orbital road that leads down to the motorway is horrendously busy, so at the bottom of the hill when we ran out of footpath we diverted off to the left and found a safer route.
Here we are at Glanford Park Football Ground. Scott is proudly showing his flag for the photo.
After a drink and a rest in the pub nearby, I left Scott at 4.15pm to get the bus home. He had arranged for someone to come and pick him up and take him home for the night. Tomorrow morning he has a meeting at the Club for a tour round the ground and some more publicity shots, before he heads off in the direction of Doncaster. His next overnight will be at Thorne, about eighteen miles away.
Scott is doing this as a personal challenge, while raising money for a very worthy cause. Prostate Cancer UK is also the Football Leagues chosen charity for the 2012 - 2013 season. He has also applied to go into the Guiness Book of Records as the only person ever to have walked between all 92 football grounds in one continuous journey. All this from someone who has no previous experience of long distance walking.
So where's he heading next? Here is a brief rundown. Barnsley. Rotherham. Sheffield. Chesterfield. Derby. Burton on Trent. Nottingham. Leicester. Northampton. Milton Keynes. Stevenage. Peterborough. Norwich. Ipswich. Colchester. Southend. Dagenham. West Ham. Leyton Orient. Tottenham. Arsenall. Barnet. Watford. High Wycombe. Oxford. Reading. Aldershot. Brentford. QPR. Fulham. Chelsea. Wimbledon. Millwall. Crystal Palace. Charlton. Gillingham. Crawley. Brighton. Finish.
Where can you get the full story of this epic adventure?
http://www.walkthe92.co.uk/
There are details on there on how to contact Scott, can anyone else meet up with him along the way and offer him some company. If you are a football fan all the better, though he can talk about other topics. There are photo's on the site of where he has walked so far, and if you wish to make a donation to Prostate Cancer UK, there is a Just Giving link on there.
I had a fantastic day with Scott, I have every admiration for him attempting this amazing walk, and I wish him every success with the rest of it. I am sure he will finish it.
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