We were delighted to hear from Peter Lunn (62) who recently completed a 4 day charity walk on the South Downs Way. His challenge was to walk 81 miles (a mile for every year of his life) from Harting Down to Beachy Head, from Friday 28 to Monday 31 August in support of New Forest for Ukraine (NFFU). New Forest For Ukraine is an entirely volunteer-led charity providing life-saving humanitarian aid to people whose lives have been ruined by the war. Working with a dozen other trusted partner organisations across Ukraine, the charity supports vulnerable families, older people, people with disabilities, orphanages, hospitals, rehabilitation centres and communities living in some of the hardest hit cities, towns and villages. Before embarking on this walk, Peter commented 'It will be a tough physical and mental challenge, but it is nothing compared to the daily hardships faced by the people of Ukraine.'

The Walk

Peter started his walk at 6.45am on Friday morning at Harting Down, as it was 'the nearest point to Churcher's College, and an area that I was familiar with from my youth'. Peter undertook some training prior to his walk by completing some two hour walks locally and one hour Gym work-outs each week. For the actual walk, Peter carried only water and energy bars each day, and took rest and refreshments every couple of hours.

Peter said 'I met folk of all ages and from all nationalities during the walk, and frequently stopped for a brief chat, sometimes in my schoolboy French or German! At other times I would walk for miles without seeing a soul.' Peter experienced mixed weather with wet and windy conditions on Friday afternoon and most of Saturday, especially on the exposed ridges, but 'fortunately the wind direction was mostly from behind so didn't slow me down too much.' 

The South Downs Way whilst accessible to all, is still considered physically challenging with peaks to climb and uneven terrain, made all harder under inclement weather conditions. Despite this, Peter's pedometer showed that he covered 77.5 miles overall, at an average speed of approximately 2.8 mph. This translated into 27.5 hours of walking over 4 days - almost 7 hours per day - plus rests! He completed 163,313 steps altogether - almost 41,000 steps per day and used up 14,000 calories in total! This is an amazing achievement, and we would like to congratulate Peter who continues to raise money, alongside his partner Hilary, for the Charity 'New Forest for Ukraine'. 

If you would like to donate...

Peter explained that every donation made through the just-giving site below will help New Forest For Ukraine continue to deliver vital humanitarian aid and will contribute towards the ever-increasing cost of transporting supplies from the UK to Ukraine. Every pound raised brings practical support and hope to families whose lives have been devastated by war.

Peter says 'Thank you for your generosity and encouragement. Together, we can make a real difference.' 

thttps://www.justgiving.com/page/hilary-wright-1783890695064?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL