Walk 17 -9.3 miles - Total 233.5 miles - To Go 766.5 miles

Boscombe Pier to Bournemouth to Sandbanks to Boscombe Pier







After a break of writing in Spain for me and golf and back pain for Rob in Marbella we are back on 1000miles4hope. It seems strange driving down here in sunshine and warmth and so different to that first 220 odd miles round the London Loop. The Easter Holidays in full flow here with the beaches of Boscombe and Bournemouth packed with sunbathers, swimmers, volley ball games and surfers making the best of a calm sea. We are grateful to Steve and Catherine (my brother and sister in law) for putting us up for this section of our walk.

We start at Boscombe Pier with the support of the Bournemouth MS Society. We meet Alan Lyndsay (President), Jane Lindsay (Support Officer), Mike and Ruth Lander and their daughter Karen Bainbridge. They are all doing great work here in Dorset and are one of the largest MS branches in the country. We talk about the challenges they are facing with Alan, Mike and Karen having MS and their supporters Jane and Ruth who also live with the disease. The bright smiling faces of grandchildren Lewis, Millie and Sophie completing the family scene. Gullen Petty has joined us from the MS Society in London.
We all talk about the work Robin Franklin is doing at Cambridge University to find a way of repairing the Myelin damage caused by MS. This is what all our efforts are about. We are walking to raise funds for Robin's research to give hope to people who are fighting against this cruel disease. It was great meeting all these people giving us a send off. Hattie from the Bournemouth Echo caught the photographs and Fiona the journalist is writing up a story to be published next week.



Our walk along the seafront is a real pleasure. The beaches are packed and everyone seems happy. A real contrast to the mud, snow, wind and cold of our London Loop walks in the past. People are friendly. Everyone is trying to read our 1000miles4hope t-shirts and some stop us to ask us what we are doing. The best being Mary who thought we were Australians with our hats and was intrigued to know what we were doing. She donated on the spot and told us about her enjoyment of Offa's Dyke putting fear in to us saying it is a hard treck with a lot of up and down. I turn to Rob afterwards and say 'I am a little bit worried about Offa's Dyke' and he say 'Yes, me too....a lot worried'.
We come upon Ben and Wyatt and a coterie of Southern Belles revising Bournemouth style. Ben (Simon) and Wyatt (Garfunkel) sing all the learning for exams while the Belles look on adoringly taking it all in. Good luck with your exams it looks to us like you got them beat!

A little further along we come across a piece of art created by Ella with her shells in the shape of a butterfly.




A few years ago I expected my wife Karen to be very impressed when I told her I was taking her to Harry Ramsdens for a special celebration meal. I couldn't understand why she was not as impressed as I had expected her to be. I then discovered that I had got the restaurant name wrong and it was Gordon Ramsey I was wanting to take her too. She was then impressed and the man himself was there and talked football to me and charmed Karen off her feet and gave her a birthday kiss. Well today Rob told me Harry Ramsdens is the best fish and chips on the planet except for Andreas's fish and chip shop in Woodford ......so we had to give it a go. Actually not bad. There we met a wonderful group. Dawn and friends with their children at the biggest table in the restaurant doing all the hard work of creating a great Easter holiday while their husbands stay home to 'decorate' in this week of european football, masters golf, grand national, fa cup and real madrid v barcelona. Thanks for your donation Dawn and friends we really appreciate it enjoy your holiday and be understanding if the decorating has not progressed as far as you expected....it has been a tough week for us boys. I am an Arsenal fan....and even though we lost I was amazed watching Messi. As I write this Liverpool are beating Benfica and Rob is very excited. Particularly when the ref changed his mind and gave a goal he had disallowed to Liverpool.
Robs back seems ok. Stretches done and hopefully he gets the right Liverpool result and are ready for more miles tomorrow.