We did it! On Wednesday 30^th September Paul Turrell and Simon Fanning successfully followed in the footsteps of Sir Ian Botham in walking on schedule into Land’s End after 874 miles of walking since leaving John O’Groats on 28^th August at an average of 30 miles a day, 1.7m steps, a combined ascent of 16,800m and 105k calories spent by both. Mike Palfreman, CEO of Haven House, joined them for over 500 miles of that immense journey, and we were delighted that another 42 friends and colleagues joined for one or more legs in the UK, with another 22 holding their own walks “in synch” in Switzerland, USA, Cayman Islands, Dubai and Canada. A huge thank you to all of them.

Our aim was to raise £100k for Haven House Children's Hospice to support this amazing charity through and beyond the current crisis. We have made huge headway towards this – and thank you to all of you who have donated as this has boosted us regularly along the way as blisters and strains have increased – but we still have a way to go to achieve that ambitious but very necessary target. Any further support that could be offered will be hugely appreciated and make a big difference to our work at Haven House.

  

Sir Ian Botham has sent a personal message of support;

Good luck lads! It is great to hear that you are taking on this challenge and take it from me it will certainly test you. Just make sure you get your sums right though. The first time I did it I thought we were nearing the end and then we hit the Scottish border! You need good people around you for support and I found orange juice with a touch of tequila was the perfect rocket fuel (or was it tequila with a touch of orange juice?) Give it everything, and remember you can always take another step.

All the best, Beefy

Based in North East London, Haven House provides a wide range of essential services for life-limited children and young people. These services include respite, play and therapies as well as vital support at and beyond end of life, both for the child, the parents, siblings and the wider families. The hospice's overall aims are to give these children the happiest lives possible for as long as they do survive, and to enable families to make memories they can hold onto long into the future. The difference the hospice makes to many lives is huge and tangible.

Please support Paul, Simon, Mike and all the walkers in this immense challenge and Haven House through these challenging times and beyond by sponsoring us for however much you can afford. A very big thank you from all of us.

We are grateful to the following corporate partners for supporting this key 2020 fundraising event:

         

                 
            

Mike Palfreman