Walking All Over The World
Divorced mum Gill set out to walk back to happiness – and found love and a new charity purpose on the way
Ten years ago, my life had crashed to an all-time low. I was living in a mobile home, bringing up my two young daughters on my own while juggling three jobs to make ends meet.
This wasn’t the life I’d imagined when I’d left Liverpool in a motorhome two years earlier with my now ex-husband and our daughters. We were looking for somewhere to live where we could spend quality time with our girls and we found just the spot in Durness, a village in the beautiful north west corner of Scotland.
We moved into a lovely house, we set up a health food business and our daughters started at the local school. Eighteen months later, my husband left us.
Devastated, the girls and I moved 70 miles south to Dornoch, where I bought a mobile home in a caravan park. As well as holiday makers, quite a few people lived in the caravan park full time, mainly elderly couples who had sold their home and people like me, who were trying to pick up the pieces following a disastrous relationship.
Although the caravan park’s full-time residents looked out for me and my girls and we made our static caravan into a home, it wasn’t a good time for me – until I rediscovered my love of walking.
Shortly before my marriage broke up, I’d completed The MoonWalk Scotland 2007 – a 26.2 mile night-time walk through the streets of Edinburgh wearing a decorated bra which raises funds for breast cancer charities.
Throughout the walk there was the most amazing atmosphere of positivity amongst the thousands of walkers proudly wearingw their brightlyb coloured, sparkly, feathered and/or sequinned bras in public! My first MoonWalk was a fantastic experience and I vowed I’d do it every year. One year later I was a single parent living in a caravan park, finding it very hard to cope. However, I was determined to return to The MoonWalk so I resumed training by walking around the caravan park.
When I was out walking, I got to know more of the people living in the park, including Jim Robertson, a local accountant whose marriage had also failed. We were both going through awful times and, once my kids were in bed, we’d talk into the early hours of the morning over cups of tea.
As our friendship developed, we became closer. After the 2008 MoonWalk, we got together and, when Jim bought a beautiful cottage in a nearby village, the girls and I moved in with him.
Next year we’re tackling the Inca Trail and more Walk The Walk challenges
I missed the 2009 Moonwalk as we were in Canada so I could meet Jim’s son and, as I was completing my entry for The MoonWalk Scotland 2010, Jim offered to walk it with me.
Although he’s 20 years older than me, Jim’s very fit and we found that training for The MoonWalk gave us a chance to spend time doing something we both really enjoyed.
On our first MoonWalk together, Jim followed my lead and wore his bra with pride! As he’s a chartered accountant so normally very sensible and smartly-dressed, clients were literally throwing money at him to get a photo!
Since then, walking’s become a passion for Jim and me. So far, we’ve walked 28 marathons, either by taking part in the various MoonWalks that are held across the UK or walking actual marathons, such as the London Marathon and the New York Marathon. We’ve also u undertaken lots of c challenges organised by W Walk The Walk, the b breast cancer charity b behind The MoonWalk, i including two 100km w walks along the banks of the Thames, an ArcticA Marathon on cross-country skis and the Three Land Challenge, which involves completing MoonWalks in England, Scotland and Iceland. In between walking all these very long distances, we squeezed in getting married on the beautiful island of Mull. Our wedding was a small, family affair which started with a long walk in the morning and came to an end watching the sun set over Tobermory Bay. Perfect.
So far, our walking has enabled us to raise almost £30,000 for breast cancer charities and another £20,000 for other charities. But it’s not just about raising money. We’ve made so many friends all over the country, we’ve walked in some amazing places, often by the magical light of the moon, and we’ve strengthened our relationship.
Next year, we’re going to do the Arctic Marathon again, The MoonWalks in London and Edinburgh, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru and a few other Walk The Walk challenges.
My life today is completely different to how it was ten years ago – and it’s all thanks to a wonderful guy who loves me for who I am and who loves walking with me, even when he has to wear a bra!