‘The challenge changed my entire life’

Rhiannon Grover’s grandma got her involved in the challenge – now she says it’s one of the best things she’s ever done. Sixty-nine-year-old Denni Morrison had completed her first year of #walk1000miles and knew how great it made her feel. But her 28-year-old granddaughter Rhiannon wouldn’t leave the house and said her life seemed empty.

Denni knew the challenge would open her world – ‘She took some persuading, but she knew I wasn’t going to give in! I tried to make each walk an adventure with something special to find or see or pick. I also made sure halfway through each walk we’d bump into a pub or a coffee shop.

‘Signing up was a big step for her. It meant making a commitment to do something scary and that could mean failing. I really didn’t think she would do it – but I’d completely underestimated this brave new granddaughter of mine.’

In September she reached the glorious 500-mile mark. ‘When I presented her with her 500-mile medal, I don’t know which one of us was crying the most,’ recalls Denni.

For Rhiannon, it’s been a remarkable turnaround. ‘The challenge has changed my entire life!’ she says. ‘I didn’t realise how miserable I was before I started it. I’d pretty much forgotten how to live.

I never in a million years thought I could do what I’m doing now. I’m happy and I have all my confidence back. Just by getting out there I’ve learned so much, not only about the world around me, but about myself too.’

Walking side-by-side has really helped get the two of them talking. ‘Rhiannon has found it difficult to talk to anyone about her issues, but when we’re walking it makes it a lot easier to say things that may be a bit hard to talk about face-toface. We’ve been able to get a lot of stuff out, and now I have a wonderfully confident granddaughter who smiles and laughs – and walks for miles!’