Gill Walks the Wall Charity Expedition to Mark 40th Birthday
Built to ward off the threat of Mongol invasion in ancient times, The Great Wall of China is one of the world's most amazing feats of human endeavour. This colossal structure stretches more than 4,000 miles over the undulating terrain of northern China. The construction of the Wall involved tens of millions of people over a period of more than 2,000 years.
Mum of two Gill Winter, St. Asaph, decided many years ago she wanted to do a charity trek across the Great Wall of China to mark her 40th birthday and whilst she was two weeks short of the date (volcanic ash permitting) she finally made it to the skies on 1st May. This is her story:
“With a whole week in front of me and 80km of wall to trek I had no idea what to expect, and boy was I in for some fun! Spit roast goat, outside makeshift showers, shared squat toilets and hillside scrambles you wouldn’t believe and that’s before I even got to the wall! Incredible, amazing, fantastic are words that immediately spring to mind. The wall itself is just spectacular.
Whilst most visitors see only brief glimpses of restored sections of the Wall near to Beijing, our trek explored sections that are among the most impressive and are rarely seen by westerners. Our group consisted of 20 or so like minded trekkers, an expedition leader, 1 doctor, a local guide and two translators.
Our journey took us from Gubeikou to Gangfang – with glimpses of villages and rural life dotted in between. We were up at 6.30 each morning and on the trail by 8am. I say trail, I actually felt a bit like a mountain goat! The ‘tracks’ we followed to get up to and down from the wall were invisible to the naked eye and involved a lot of careful footwork to avoid slipping down huge ravines! I’d do it all again tomorrow….!. One of the highlights of the trek was camping in a remote rural school which housed approximately fifty primary school children, the welcome we received was heart melting.”
Although Gill funded the trek herself, she has managed to raise an impressive £2,200 to date for two very worthwhile charities in doing so (Cancer Research UK and Make a Wish Foundation). Gill would like to say a huge big thank you to everyone that supported her, whether that be through good wishes, personal donations or by attending her fundraising events, its all counted and pledges are still coming in so again thank you.
The trek was organised by 'Across the Divide' ,a British charity organisation. To find out more about these and other expeditions as possible fundraisers for your chosen charity log onto their website at www.acrossthedivide.com
|
Previous
Page