8 Jun 2008 - Day 7
The morning of Sunday June 8th 2008 was grey, misty and chilly. The residents of Canterbury were mainly still in bed at 7.40am when the five, tired and bleary-eyed walkers left the deserted city centre headed for Dover. They weren’t in a hurry to get there either.
The first few miles were taken very steadily and this was aided by the flattest and least interesting stage of the whole week. They just gently walked south-east toward the finish and eventually met the support team for the final food stop of the whole week at the tiny village of Womenswold. Ten miles separated them from the finish but did the pace pick up?
No. The walkers maintained their slow pace, all feeling their exertions of the previous six days now. The stage was almost flat with just a few gentle rises to negotiate. Even when Dover finally loomed into view ahead the team kept their pace slow as the terrain of overgrown fields and muddy, sticky paths demanded. But at 1pm the three giant communications masts on Dover’s white cliffs were visible, but still the walkers stayed at a steady tempo. They inched closer to the Channel Port and there were visible signs of returning to civilization as they saw an awful amount of rubbish and a burnt-out car on the trail.
Finally the descent down towards the finish began and the sun had come out and the heat became evident as the team then saw the sea for the first time Now they became excited as they turned left past Dover Castle then up onto the cliffs for the big finish. The celebrations began now.
The support team had prepared a superb finish by decorating the support vehicles and providing champagne at the summit and the walkers finally finished their long 131 mile journey at 2.15pm and the party began!!!
Mission accomplished. The five walkers had done the long distance in 43 hours, 34 minutes and after an hour of congratulations and phone calls to loved one’s and friends, the team had just one thing left to think about: the long journey home.
They milked in the view of the busy port at Dover but sadly couldn’t see across to France due to heavy fog in the English Channel which was a disappointment. However the achievement was a superb one. Eventually at 3pm the long journey back to Hampshire began with everyone now consumed by the tiredness that a busy and physical week had brought. The last person (John) got home at 7.45pm after a four-hour haul. All nine people involved were tired but very proud. And they should be. The North Downs Challenge had been met and conquered and the memories will stay with everyone for the rest of their lives. But most importantly of all the team hope that the two charities stand to benefit from their efforts. Well done everyone!!!