Stansted traveller set for 184-mile walk alongside the Thames
A STANSTED man with a taste for travelling is set for something a little less taxing but still highly rewarding – a 184-mile charity walk alongside the River Thames.
David Martin has spent much of his adult life on different continents in Australia, North and South America, Asia and Europe, and recently returned from a seven-and-a-half month stint in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.
For a month, while in the Nepalese city of Katmandu, the 25-year-old helped out at a small children’s orphanage, editing its website and generally promoting the good work that it does.
Today (Friday) David will get a lift to the Cotswolds to the source of the Thames before starting out on his solo eight-day walk to the Thames Barrier in East London, fundraising for the orphanage.
He said: “I thought of doing the walk while I was out in Nepal. It is not something I have trained for and it won’t be easy but I am looking forward to it.”
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He added: “It was a great experience at the orphanage and I was pleased to be able to help out. It was nice to see how happy these children are – they were so polite.
“It is a beautiful country but compared to the UK it is worlds apart. The people don’t have much.”
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David has planned his stays through couchsurfing.co.uk, a volunteer-based worldwide network connecting travellers with members of local communities who offer free accommodation.
He will split any funds he raises from the trip between the orphanage and St Clare Hospice, which cares for terminally ill patients in Essex and Hertfordshire.
“I don’t have a connection with St Clare as such, but it does brilliant work and if I can raise anything for them it will be great,” he added.
For more information on the orphanage visit chef.org.np or for St Clare visit stclarehospice.org.uk
To donate visit https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/davidmartin or email david197@hotmail.co.uk
