A slight change of plan

Again I’ve already emailed this to everyone I think needs to read it, but just in case I’ve missed anyone in my general incompetence I’m republishing it here.

If you’ve already responded to me via email then don’t feel the need to do it again in the comments unless you feel you want to.

I’ve had an incredible response to my appeal for people to come on the walk of Hadrian’s Wall next July. So far a whopping 49 people from all over the world have said they are interested in coming along. They range from as far away as Australia to as nearby as, err, my house I suppose. And that’s just people to join Team Ocelot; my brother is pretty sure that team bandicoot will contain around 25 members too.

That’s 74 people. Just think how much sponsorship that number of people will raise; not to mention the great social event it’ll be. As I’ve said before, this is going to be bloody great.

However, much as I welcome as many people as we can get to come along, it does throw up a few logistical problems. Initially when I conceived of the walk I envisaged around 25 people taking part in each team, and planned accordingly. It’s by no means impossible to cope with a larger number than this, but it’s going to require more planning.

Over the past couple of days I’ve been eyeing the growing number of names on my spreadsheet nervously and have rung around a few of the hostels that I envisaged staying in; amazingly some of them have been already booked up for the dates we want to use them (the swines!). Again this isn’t too much of a problem as I’ve got alternatives lined up. But I’m getting a little nervous about leaving it until August to book them in case someone sneaks in before me. And obviously I can’t book any places until I know exactly how many are going to be walking.

So what I’m proposing is this: I bring the deadline for confirming if you are coming or not forward a little bit. One week away to Sunday the 5th of July to be precise. I really hope this doesn’t cause any problems to you or affect your ability to commit. If there is a reason why you can’t let me know by this date then please let me know and I’m sure we can work something out. But as it is the stress of having a possible 49 people eager to do the walk and the potential that there will be no where for them to sleep and me having to somehow “drop” people from the team is bringing me close to nervous breakdown.

So what I need to know is:

• Are you coming?
• Are you bringing anyone else with you? And if so who and what is their email address?
• Will you be in a position to pay a deposit, possibly around £50, in the next couple of weeks? (if not don’t worry, we can probably sort something out)
• If you don’t want to come for the whole walk, do you want to come for a section of it (either for a single day at any point on the route, or spanning days 3 and 4 where the scenery is most dramatic and we camp at night would seem the most do-able)

Even if you’ve told me all that information before, tell me again just to make sure your name’s been counted. My email address is dghughes28@yaho.co.uk .

I can’t give exact details about how much it will cost without knowing final numbers, but I will endeavor to keep costs as low as possible. There is a possibility that some people might have to stay in B&B’s on occasion due to the capacity of the bunk barns which might bump the cost up slightly, but my aim would be to share this out so it doesn’t affect one person/couple drastically. There is also a possibility that we might have to hire a minibus for the sherpas due to the need to ferry people about to accommodation from the trail and also shift the camping gear. I’m guessing the total price of the walk will be between £100 and £150 each (including most breakfasts). Obviously if the final total comes to more than you’re comfortable with then I’d not have a problem with you backing out.

The sooner you can let me know the better. You don’t have to wait until the 5th of July, you can tell me now. But if you do say you are coming then you need to consider that a real commitment and only back out if you lose both your legs in an industrial accident (both legs that is, if you only lose one then I expect you to hop).

If you can’t come then don’t worry about it, I certainly don’t think any less of you. Just get ready with your credit card when sponsorship time comes around :)

If you need to remind yourself about any of the details then you can find most of them on the walk’s blog hadrianswalk.org, or you can email me with any specific inquiries

Bookmark It

Related posts:

1. Change of plan.
2. Change is in the air