On Friday 21 June, Joe Porter began to walk to school from Milbourne, Malmesbury. The difference that morning was that it was 3am and his school Calder House was in Colerne over 17 miles away!
He undertook this huge challenge in memory of Jemima Prees, a schoolfriend who died in February following a skiing accident.
Jemima was a wonderful 10 year old girl, with a beaming smile and an obvious infectious zest for life. She was a keen horse rider, performer and reader (despite being dyslexic). Her parents have set up a fund called Jemima’s Gift, which is already raising money and providing opportunities for other children to reach their full potential – in sports, the arts and in learning activities.
Joe who’s 13, has autism, learning difficulties and mobility problems, so added to the shear length of the journey, it wasn’t going to be easy for him. However it was his idea and he was very determined to complete the task. To help him he was accompanied by his Headmaster, Form Teacher, his Grandpa and his mum Sarah.
Here’s the report of their morning…….
An early alarm call, his Headmaster and Form Teacher arrived, a quick bacon sandwich and then a prompt 3am start in the dark.
Joe, with a brisk step, led the way out of Milbourne and through the quiet streets of Malmesbury to begin the 17.5 mile journey to Calder House school in Colerne.
The cross country route took his intrepid team along footpaths; down bridleways; through fields, roads and woods; under the motorway; across meadows and up steep valleys.
Delays were few but interesting – troublesome gates, large nettle patches, inquisitive cows, plus a BBC radio interview. And yet the walk, which included plenty of refreshment stops too (more bacon sandwiches and chocolate snacks!) took only 7 hours, with Joe keeping up a fantastic speed the whole journey.
He arrived at 10am to the loud cheers of his school friends and teachers and a wonderful warm welcome from Jemima’s mum Dr Karen Prees, plus an unexpected visit from Tim, Jemima’s dad which capped a great adventure.
We’d like to thank everyone for their good wishes, support, enthusiasm and very generous and kind donations. The final total we hope, may be in excess of £2,500.
It was truly a team effort with special mention to Tom the farmer for his route planning, logistics (and negotiation with local landowners!); to those who walked with us for parts of the journey and everyone who cheered us on our way