My family booked for a few days holiday in Fort William for my special birthday with the hope that if weather permits, my son Ally and I would climb Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain and raise some funds for a charity too. I was hoping that I would be at the top of Ben Nevis on the day I turned 50-yrs old, on the 14th of June 2020. It wasn’t meant to be.
Due to the Pandemic caused by the Covid 19 virus, our wee holiday had to be cancelled, and like many others who had birthdays since the Lockdown in the UK started on 23rd March 2020, I have had to celebrate my half-century birthday in 'Quarantine'!
However, I was determined to make this event special for me and to push myself a little bit more. I decided to walk 50 miles before my birthday which I called 'My 50 Miles to 50th Birthday Challenge', and raise some funds for a special cause that’s close to my heart – The Encephalitis Society.
My Challenge started on 1st June and I aimed to complete it before the 14th of June. Thankfully, I completed it on the 12th, walking mostly in the evenings after work, accompanied by my ever-supportive husband Tony. We walked from home to the surrounding areas clocking in between 3 to 5 miles each time, which turned out to be a ‘discovery adventure' of our surroundings for both of us. I also walked during the weekend with my good friend Diane clocking in 10 miles, and to finish it off, my son Ally accompanied me walking two rounds of the Strathclyde Park loch, clocking in 7 miles.
Here is a video I compiled during the 10 days that I’ve done the Challenge. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed doing it.
There were some challenging moments mainly due to the weather but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed every walk I had, thanks to my three amazing walking buddies. The walks we did also gave us the chance to discover beautiful places within our doorsteps.
I feel very good about completing the Challenge before I turned 50 years old. And I am very grateful to all who have donated to my chosen charity as my target was more than achieved – Thank You ever so much from the bottom of my heart. You have made one of my Special Birthday wishes come true.
And by the way, despite spending my special day on Lockdown, I still had the most amazing time on the day especially with the perfect weather we had. I had lots of beautiful presents and my wee family in Scotland came over for a lovely meal in our back garden, ordered from Shimla Cottage Restaurant in Sunnyside, Coatbridge. I felt very spoiled and blessed indeed!
