One more mountain left to climb

Quantock girl Nell Barrington tells the story of her mammoth walk along the South West Coast Path with her dog Luna, in memory of her dad and to raise money for Ward Nine at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton

"Eleven years ago dad died, at just 66 years old, and three years ago I started clambering along the South West Coast Path. The reason, I need to raise money for Ward Nine at Musgrove Park Hospital and to find a cure for cancer, slightly big dream, by supporting the great work Blood Cancer UK are doing.

Dad (Kit Barrington) was well known in Bridgwater for his sporting prowess; he played rugby, squash, golf at Enmore and cricket, where he scored over 12,000 runs for Bridgwater Cricket Club. He was a fighter and loved a challenge so despite having a really rare form of leukaemia he carried on playing and working with his beloved “family” at Barrington and Sons. He succeeded in fighting this insidious disease for more than ten years with the help and support of the amazing, compassionate staff at Ward Nine - he was their “miracle”.

So in memory of dad a challenge was needed and the South West Coast Path at 630 miles, and the equivalent of climbing Everest four times, seemed a good choice - particularly if you are scared of heights! When planning this adventure I thought it would take a year however work, the weather and Covid got in the way. However we have walked and crawled, at times, 457 miles, climbed 53,412 feet and raised £1140 to date.

It has only been possible to get as far as we have so far with the dedicated support of family and friends who have been walking with us, along with my trusty hound, Luna. Three years on we have more than 200 miles and 29,272ft left to climb (Everest is 29,032ft) and hope to raise another £1000. We must have gone wrong in some places as by the end will have done more than 680 miles!

The coast path starts in Minehead and finishes in Poole and https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/ has lots of ideas for short family/pub/tea room walks if you don’t want to do the whole thing. If you want to see truly magnificent scenery, hidden sandy coves - with the bluest sea - as well as all manner of creatures (I saw my first ever adder, black squirrel and a hare all in one day!) then the South West Coast Path should definitely be on your bucket list.

If you are able to join me in supporting Blood Cancer UK and Ward Nine at Musgrove, in Dad’s memory, you can give here https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SomeoneSpecial/KitBarrington

Thank you.

We will be sharing our adventures and all our favourite places to sleep and eat here www.firstitmeto.co.uk. "

Nell Barrington