One hundred and seventy walkers have raised more than £52,000 for charities supporting children and young people in Herts.
Helping Herts, the official charity of the Stort Valley Rotary Club, organised the Great Big Walk for Herts on Saturday, September 24.
The walkers included charity staff, customers and supporters, and everyone tackled a designated leg of the Hertfordshire Way, a 195-mile circular walk around the county. Between them, they walked 2,000 miles – further than the distance from London to Kyiv.
Jim Tatchell, co-founder of Helping Herts, said: “Between the charities each taking on a section of the route and the Helping Herts teams we covered the whole of Hertfordshire, which has really put this campaign on the map.”
Joining the walkers were notable figures including the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, the mayors of Watford and Bishops Stortford, and even the bestselling author Ken Follett.
He completed the walk with the team from Home Start Herts, one of the 12 charities involved.
The other charities were Coram Life Education; Carers in Herts; Herts Young Homeless; For Baby’s Sake; Herts Mind Network; Grove Cottage; Riding for the Disabled; Phoenix Group for Deaf Children & Adults; PlaySkill; the Ollie Foundation; and the NSPCC.
Ian Hirst and the Friends of the Hertfordshire Way were present to make sure that everybody knew where they were going, while members of the Stort Valley Rotary Club helped out too by supervising major road crossings.
After the event, Hitchin resident Catherine Hemming, part of the Helping Herts team, said: “The weather was on our side for the Great Big Walk for Herts. It was a beautiful sunny day walking around some of the most stunning parts of Hertfordshire.
"To know we were part of a team simultaneously walking the circumference of our county for a wonderful cause felt amazing!”
Gordon Morrison, co-founder of Helping Herts, added: “We are extremely grateful to the charities for all of the time and energy they put into the Great Big Walk for Herts, and to everyone who joined in or who has sponsored.”
It is still possible to donate by visiting http://herts.heroes.help, and the Chaldean Estate is doubling all donations.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here