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Read MoreMarie treks The Hebridean Way for St Oswald's Hospice
“I love to do trail walking and have done several long distance trails over the years in the UK and I also took part in the St Oswald’s Peru trek a few years ago. My friend Jo turned 50 last year so we decided that walking the Hebridean Way would be a perfect way to mark her big birthday. Due to Covid-19 we had to push it back a year but it was well worth the wait! Thankfully my husband agreed to hire a motor home and drive the route so we had somewhere comfortable to stay on a night.”
The pair spent 12 days walking 156 miles with only one day off to celebrate Jo’s birthday. The route is known to be tough, covering some of the remotest and rugged landscape the UK has to offer, so Marie and Jo decided to ask for sponsorship for St Oswald’s Hospice to help spur them on. Marie continued:
“The Outer Hebrides are some of the wildest and most beautiful islands in Scotland so we’ve talked about doing the walk for years. We decided that if we were going to do the challenge we wanted to raise money for the Hospice as well. I’ve been involved with St Oswald’s for over 20 years now so it really is very close to my heart.
“The Hospice is such a wonderful organisation which really swallows you up and you feel part of something very special. Over the last 35 years it’s changed and evolved over time but what it stands for and it’s pride and passion has always been constant. I feel proud to have been involved with such a fantastic organisation for all these years.”
During the last 20 years Marie has raised over £8000 for the Hospice through treks, bake sales, fundraising at work and more. Marie and Jo raised an impressive £650 through this challenge and Marie has further fundraising planned:
“I’ll be standing down in November from my role as Chair as my term of office has come to an end but I’ll certainly continue to fundraise for the Hospice. I already have a few ideas of what I’d like to do next.”
Huge well done and thank you to Marie and Jo for raising vital funds for us whilst completing such a tough challenge. If you’d like to sponsor them please visit their JustGiving page here.