Blisters burst couple’s hiking-challenge bubble
Generous sponsors ensure pair still manage to raise £850
A bid by a retired couple from Coxheath to recreate an episode from their lost youth has ended in disappointment.
But the efforts of Michael and Jan Webb will still benefit charity.
The pair, from Westerhill Road, took part in a Kent Messenger 50-mile walk as teenagers in the 1960s, and thought they would repeat the exercise to raise money for Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Their aim was to replicate the walk from Margate to Maidstone which they last did in 1967.
Sadly, they only got as far as Canterbury, around 15 miles, when Michael was forced to give up because of severe blisters on his feet.
He said: “Part of the problem was the road surface of the Thanet Way. It was atrocious. But I also blame myself. Usually, I walk in sandals. On this occasion, I decided to wear boots and socks and it just didn’t work for me.”
Mr Webb, 67, wanted to hobble on, but his son, Richard, who was driving one of the two vehicles flanking them, was insistent he should call it a day.
Mr Webb said: “I was almost in tears. To be honest, Jan could have carried on a bit farther without me, but even she was very weary.” Mrs Webb is 65. Mr Webb has done plenty of marching in his time. He was in the regular army and then the Territorial Reserve for a total of 25 years.
He said: “It just goes to show we are not as young as we were.”
The good news is all of the Webbs’ sponsors have agreed to make their full donations anyway – raising a grand total of £850 for the cause.
The Kent Messenger walks of the 1960s attracted thousands of entrants, though far from all made it to the end. Of the 4,500 who entered the first walk in 1963, only 670 reached the finish line.