A final update from me, starting with a thank you to Fiona, Jenny and Jennifer who all walked with me this week.  Sadly, walks planned for today and tomorrow, the final day of the challenge, have had to be cancelled due to us self-isolating after a friend, who was staying with us earlier in the week, had positive PCR test.   So that leaves me with a total of 43 different walking companions and an unofficial total of about 190 miles so my plan/pledge is to keep walking and talking through August so that I achieve 50 companions/250 miles before the end of the summer.   

Overall, the challenge has been a  very positive experience:  I walked with 18 people that I have never walked with before  and caught up with quite a few more who I have not seen in ages. I have had lots of interesting conversations, been to some previously unexplored places including Hebden Bridge, Stamford Bridge and Welburn, and delighted the dogs with extra walks.   

I want to say one final huge thank you to everyone who has walked with me and to everyone who has donated.

In the unlikely event that anyone is reading this, I have to apologise for the long radio silence - and also for losing a post which I definitely made a couple of weeks ago!  So to summarise recent activity of note:

• 5 July lovely walk at Hardcastle Crags (near Hebden Bridge) with colleagues Jenny, Lucy and Sarah. 
• 8 July - walk at local woods with old friend Alison.
• 9 July - short walk locally with colleague Cerys.
• 21 July - short walk with Dani whose wonderful chiropractor skills have got senior dog skipping around again like a big puppy!
• 22 July - walk around village with neighbour Lynn
• 23 July - another local walk with neighbour Debbie
• 23 July - a trip to Stamford Bridge to walk with colleague Emma
• 24 July - a quick stroll with a very old American friend, Michele, who I haven't seen in 30 years!
• today - a walk in woods with friend Rachel.

In between, there have been plenty of dog walking with family including in Cornwall on our holiday.  Recently  I have been  adding in another short walk in the evenings (literally going that extra mile!).  However, total mileage was officially only 151 miles as at 22nd July but with my watch  definitely under-recording - Emma's superior sports watch with UPS  recorded our walk on Friday  at 3 miles, mine at 2.4 - I feel I have probably done more like 175 miles.  With a week to go, I am probably not going to make my official target but given dodgy hip/back and the recent heatwave, I feel pretty proud of the efforts so far, including organising walks with 40 different people.   And I am thrilled to have raised significantly  more money than I expected.    Can't say thank you enough.   

Finally, as usual here are some less than stellar photos although there is a nice one of me and my sister on holiday!

I forgot Elaine!!!  Thank you to friend and neighbour for allowing me to join her and dogs on a lovely walk round our village in the sunshine on Monday morning - a great start to the week.   So that makes a grand total of 29 different  walking companions so far.   Not bad.

NB it should have been 30 but colleague Cerys and I ended up talking (and working) for so long in her kitchen that we ran out of time for a walk!  Next time.

I really don't know where time goes - all I can say is that not enough time is being donated to walking so my target seems more and more unattainable!  My hope is that I can ratchet up the miles when I am on holiday in Cornwall - and then focus on new walking companions when I return.  But I still have a few achievements  to report - walked with old friends Helen on Monday,  Liz on Tuesday and Caroline  on Friday  - lovely to catch up with all of them.  (I have worked out that I can't upload photos from my new phone because they are the wrong type of image/file - have adjusted settings so there will be more (still terrible) photos soon!)

Thank you to my neighbour Marion who stepped in (literally!) at short notice on Tuesday to join me for a walk after another friend had to cancel due to a covid scare, to colleagues Mhairi and Angela for joining me for a lovely stroll around campus on Wednesday afternoon and finally to my very old friend Stephanie for finally getting round to coming for a walk with me on Thursday!!   And an even bigger thank you to all the kind people who have sponsored me so far - very excited by how much money we have raised.   Apologies, for a lack of photos this time - having a problem with my phone.

Almost forgot - just before we went away to Scotland, I did a short walk with former colleague Martin and then with my lovely neighbour Jane - so total walking companions to date is 21- almost half way to my target of 50.  However I failed to take a photo of Martin and seemed to have managed to delete photo of Jane and I - all round incompetence!  So instead I am posting a photo of a walk I did with husband and daughter, Laura, back in May. 

Apologies for the lack of recent updates - we have been away in Scotland and otherwise  just a bit swamped with 'life'.  So pretty quiet on the walking front - plodding away most days but nothing very spectacular and also short on new companions.  We did have one surprise win - bumping into colleague Peter and his wife Elinor (plus Dougal) at Beningbrough and walking by the river with them - plus coffee and cake. Btw none of the yachts in the photo belong to us!!   So need to get organising now to involve more people - and also up the mileage as my total distance  is still under 100 miles - a long way to go before 31 July!!

A strong week of walking and chatting!   After a horribly wet day on Wednesday, managed two separate  walks on Thursday, 1.7 miles with Ruth and then 3.8 miles with Diana (forgot photo - but think she might be quite relieved considering how bad my photography skills are - eyes clearly seem to be optional - apologies to all concerned!!! ).  Covered 2.5 miles with Sheila on Friday, 3.4 miles with Catherine on Saturday and 3 miles with Giles and Carolyn  on Sunday (and husband D but can't count him again!). Then day off walking to do some much needed gardening before a lovely walk in the sunshine today with my sister who is visiting for a few days - photo to follow - but my watch is definitely under-recording as it said 3.7 miles and her phone said 4.6. At this rate I will have to do  over 300 miles to reach my target of 250!  I think I will have to use my phone instead from now on.  

But that makes a total of 17 different walking companions so far which is great. Thanks to all of them and everyone who has sponsored me so far.   

The good news is that all the people doing the Great York Walk have collectively already achieved the original target of 25,000 miles which is just amazing.  The less good news for me personally is that a) the organisers  reset the clocks for a new bigger challenge before I could upload a few miles for last week and b) my sports watch seems to be under-counting my mileage - when I walked with Laura last weekend, her Apple watch said we had done 5 miles and my watch said 4.1 miles!!!  Obviously have to stick with what my watch says so my grand total after two weeks was only 20 miles.   I am  now really quite concerned about reaching my target of 250 miles by 31 July but hoping some nicer weather will encourage me to get out for 2 walks some days - and may need to do a few extra miles on the bike!   

Walked with friend Sara last week but failed to take a photo - will remedy next time.  Then with Nick and Nic on Saturday - and also had a beer in the pub afterwards (what a treat) - and then yesterday a lovely 2 mile walk with my next door neighbour Simon . That brings my total of different walking companions so far to 10 which is terrific.  Thanks to all of them.   

After a strong start, we have had a few setbacks!  Junior dog is on enforced 'bedrest' because of a  poorly shoulder which has rather scuppered our walking schedule.  I tried to go out on my bike to add a few miles to my total and found it had a puncture which took a long time for my lovely  mechanic (aka no 1 husband) to sort so that was also a non-starter.  And then today found my sports watch had run out of battery so did not record my walk.   I also haven't sorted out any publicity of this page. Hoping for a 're-set' this week.......In the meantime here are a few photos from week 1 (aren't I short?!)  and thanks to all those who have walked with me so far. 

Walked 2.22 miles (including a big hill!) on Wednesday 12th with colleague MJ and 3.7 miles on Thursday 13th with old friend Lucy.   Making steady progress but realising that I am going to have to find a way to do quite a few more miles  each week if I am going to reach my 250 miles target before 31 July.

Day 2 and managed a slightly longer walk - 3.3. miles at Yearsley woods -  with my friend Sarah Lawrence.  Thanks to her for joining me and to the dogs for being polite around her spaniel! 

Have sore hip - not a great start (!) - but managed to complete 2.5 mile walk on day 1 with my daughter so on our way.  Dogs enjoyed a swim on route.   Also got my first donation - from my mother (of course!).