A mother and her son are walking a whopping 32 miles (around 64,000 steps!) to raise funds for the BHWT. Kim Chandler and her 12-year-old son Dominic will leave their six hens at home when they tackle their challenge along the Basingstoke Canal in August.
Kim Chandler and her son Dominic, aged 12, love nature and being outdoors. They can often be found walking along the Basingstoke Canal to see the local wildlife and learn about the surrounding area’s history.
So when they decided to raise funds for the BHWT they could not think of a better way than to walk the length of it – that’s right… the whole 32 miles!
Kim and Dominic plan to complete their trek over two days in mid-August, giving them as much time as possible to prepare.
We asked Kim how they intend to train for such a long trip. She said, “Every day we try to hit 10,000 steps and we attend a Family Fitness class every Friday which helps with strength and aerobic training.”
In May, the team of two set off on their first walk to see how long it would take them and what they would need along the way. They set off with three litres of water, some sandwiches for lunch and plenty of snacks including ice cream at the Canal Centre in Mychett – yum!
When asked how they thought it went, Kim laughs “I got my distances wrong and we ended up walking 18 miles from Woking to Fleet instead of 10 miles! We started at 9:00 am and didn’t get home till 6:00 pm, our feet were covered in blisters, we were exhausted and hobbling along at the end. We slept so well that night and were sat on the couch most of the next day!”
Their next big walk will be on the 26th of July when they will walk 14 miles from Fleet to Basingstoke.
It will be their second training session before tackling the whole 32 miles in mid-August.
Hopefully, this time they will find their way a little better! Kim has told us they will prepare by doing plenty of stretching and investing in some good walking shoes for the 14-mile test walk before getting ready for the entire 32 miles!
With such a long way ahead of them, Kim told us that thinking of their own flock and the other girls in need of new homes will be their motivation. The Chandler family are proud keepers of six hens called Poppy, Lulu, Rolsche, Barbara, Dolly and Bobby, and like to watch them every morning enjoying their free-range retirement.
Kim continues “The fact that we are doing it for ‘the girls’ motivates me the most. Most people think ‘they’re just chickens’ but they’re more than that to us. They are chickens that have never felt grass beneath their feet or seen the sun before. They deserve more than that and we want to spread awareness for the BHWT and teach people that they should be buying the best eggs possible and thinking about adopting some chickens to give them a better life.”
Raising awareness for the BHWT is a massive motivator for both Kim and Dominic, as they tell us, “No matter how sore or tired you are – you can keep going if you believe in why you are doing it. Too many people don’t know where their eggs in scrambled egg or pasta come from, and that’s what we are trying to do, raise awareness and make positive change!”
Kim and Dominic are so excited that they have set up a Just Giving page, to raise funds while they go on their big adventure! Kim tells us “I am so very proud of Dominic. Even though there were plenty of moments when we nearly gave up along the way on our training walk, we had plenty of heart-to-hearts and we did it! The success of the next two walks is exciting for us!”
Kim and Dominic aim to keep their Just Giving page updated so everyone can see their progress and wish them well on the big day! Make sure your cheer them on (and donate if you can) on the 14th and 15th of August! Good Luck Kim and Dominic!
