Miles to Malts talk : Blewbury to Islay Walk, 677 miles

Neville Hargreaves, one of our long-term supporters and editor of the Blewbury Bulletin, took on an amazing sustainable transport challenge this summer by walking the whole way from Blewbury

to the Isle of Islay in the Inner Hebrides. Islay is about the same size as the Vale of White Horse but only has 3,000 residents. It has a great variety of scenery: stunning beaches, spectacular

coastline, rough moorland, woodland and fertile farmland. It also has rich wildlife, especially birdlife, and is the source of some of the world’s finest malt whiskies.

Neville had meticulously planned the route to avoid road walking, to explore the best of the British countryside and to stay with friends on route. The plan was to walk 666 miles in about 50 days, but he actually walked further than this. Neville gave the first of our winter series of talks at the beginning of November to tell us about his challenge and inspired us all.

Neville walked the whole way with a friend, Paul, with others joining for specific sections. Over 40

people joined, supported or hosted them along the way. Whilst some of the route was well

trodden, such as Striding Edge in the Lake District, many of the footpaths were not. Challenges

included impenetrable hedges in Staffordshire, angry farmers in Ayrshire, cancelled ferries in

Argyll, and nettles everywhere. Neville’s feet started hurting after four miles (though they did get

much better after 400). They had marvellous weather, except for the days on high mountains

when they most needed it.

Why did they do it? The Miles to Malts challenge was a personal quest, now that Neville is partly

retired, but it was also inspired by a Pennine Way Challenge that he went on three years ago. This

had been organised by a friend who has since died of Motor Neurone Disease. Neville and Paul

have raised over £24,000 for MNDA, thanks to over 200 generous donors. If you would like to

donate to this cause, visit https://justgiving.com/fundraising/susan-fletcher-watts

Neville’s full story is on www.miles2malts.com where you can relive their journey through his

blogs or listen to his playlist “Track of the Day”.

Jane Kinniburgh (using information from Neville)