2023 Walking Ireland Planning

Marg Davies 100 Mile Charity Walk in Ireland 2023

It’s the time of year again to plan for my 2023 charity walk. I’ve completed most of my annual 100 Mile Walks in various parts of England, one in Wales and one in Scotland. This time, Year 10, I felt it was time to do a walk in Ireland. I’ll be walking mostly in Northern Ireland (Fermanagh and South Tyrone), but crossing the border now and again into County Donegal. 

I’m fortunate that I can take as long as it takes to complete my 100 miles this year. Denise (as many of you know, my support driver/medic/cook/etc.) and I are staying with her sister and brother-in-law in Donegal town for the duration. No monetary or time constraints apart from ferry times to and from Northern Ireland. I’m provisionally planning to complete my 100 miles sometime between Monday 17^th April 2023 and Tuesday 25^th April 2023.  

Each year my supporters amaze and humble me with their generosity and again I’m raising funds for two charities. The first is the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association, the only veteran’s charity set up specifically to cater for the needs of female veterans. Females are often the forgotten ‘heroes’ - forgotten by society in general but also frequently under-resourced by ‘Veteran’ society as well. The WRAC Association gives not only financial support to female army veterans but also provides emotional support to a section of our community that often suffers from isolation and loneliness. The WRAC Association is a safe haven where female veterans can find the support and friendship that is often all that is required to overcome their difficulties. My second charity is Pancreatic Cancer Research in memory of another female veteran, Mel Howell, who died from Pancreatic Cancer in 2022 after a very brief and painful illness. As a breast-cancer survivor myself I am only too aware of how fortunate I am and how much more research is required to give Pancreatic Cancer patients a fighting chance. At the moment there is only a 14% survival rate over 5 years if diagnosis is delayed.

This year my walks are going to be a little bit different. Normally I complete my 100 Mile walk by walking a line from point A to Point B, getting dropped off and picked up each day along the route. Ireland is a little bit different as a few 100 mile plus linear routes do exist but over very wild, rugged, boggy, mountainous terrain. One thing my 72 years on this planet has taught me is to set realistic challenges!! As a lone walker I have no intention of traversing mountainous bog-land using just a compass to find my route (there are few marked pathways!!) So, forest tracks and minor lanes are the order of the day. I will be driving to an area, parking the car, doing a circular walk, getting back in the car, driving to the next area and repeating the process until I have completed 100 miles. The map shows (possibly not very clearly!) some of routes I'll be walking.

My Give as you Live fundraising page is open at:

https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/margs-ireland-100-mile-charity-walk-2023