RECENT NEWS

GREAT WALL OF CHINA TREK

Steph Boland and Teresa Bone walked the Great Wall of China to raise funds

for Donna's Dream House. They planned to fly out in April, but their

flight was cancelled due to the volcanic ash cloud. They finally got

away on 1st May 2010. Steph sent us this account of their adventure:

We successfully completed the five-day trek along the Great Wall of China. It was the hardest thing mentally or physically I have ever done in my life and in all honesty if I had known how hard it would be I don't think that I would have signed up as I would never had thought it possible that I could do it. We arrived in Beijing on the Sunday morning after a ten-hour flight and then transferred for three hours out to rural China to a hotel in the Mountains. We met our 18 other trekkies, the trek leader, doctor, local guides and interpreters. Up at 6 am and set off about 8 am each day for eight hours, trekking in 80 degrees heat with the equivalent of a small person on your back. Call me stupid but I had no idea I'd be climbing mountains and that would be for two hours each day before even getting to the wall (mountain goat I'm not). Once on the wall the fun began! We mostly trekked on the "untouristy" bits that were not yet renovated and climbed hundreds of steps (of every shape and height and state of disrepair) between each tower (so thousands a day). Don't ever let anyone tell you that you walk the Great Wall of China- you climb it -trust me! I don't think anything in our training adequately prepared us for this and the Malvern Hills will only ever by molehills to me again.

I can't express how difficult it was but we took the approach of little steps and not looking at each mountain to climb and little by little we achieved each daily goal. We camped along the way with stunning views of the wall and trekked through rural China with their pristine fields and people pulling ploughs on their backs and using wooden scythes. We camped in a rural school and gave presents to the children and marvelled at how well behaved they were and how poor. Some of them had to climb over the mountains and wall for two hours each way just to get to school and back each day and they arrived at 7am, an hour before the teachers.

The team that looked after us were fantastic and on the last day, in the middle of nowhere, we turned a corner to be greeted by a finish line, a trestle table full of champagne and someone setting off firecrackers. I started to cry at this point as I felt so overwhelmed by everything we'd seen and done and the fact that I had managed to do it at all. Mind you I soon settled with a glass of champagne in my hand.

It was a fantastic experience and I can't believe now what I have managed to do, although I still have jetlag so once that goes hopefully will begin to sink in. Beijing was superb afterwards and the shopping was unbelievable !!

I want to thank everyone for all your fantastic support and contributions to support Donna's Dream House.

Also please click HERE to see some of the photos from the trek. They are not mine, but belong to one of the girls on the trek and she has taken some amazing pictures, capturing both the scale of the challenge and the people and culture.

BAD NEWS & GOOD NEWS

BAD NEWS: Lee Scrygemour was due to take part in a cycle ride from Manchester to Blackpool on 4th July, and had collected many sponsors to raise funds for Donna's Dream House. On his way to the start of the race, he was involved in an accident in Manchester city centre and was in hospital when he should have been racing.

GOOD NEWS: Lee's injuries were not serious and he will make a full recovery, but most of his sponsors paid up anyway! Lee will be doing the ride as soon as he is well enough, and it's still not too late to sponsor him. Go to the "Please Donate" page of this website and click on the "QUAYSIDE 2010" button.

MAKING THE DREAM COME TRUE......

Our Secret Millionaire

Gary Eastwood.

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