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| 14 Jan 2025 | |
| Solihull School News |
Solihull to Santiago - The Long Way - 2,025km in 2025
I was thrilled to learn in May 2024, that I had been granted Sabbatical leave for the Summer term this year, after serving the School for 30 years. As avid walkers, my wife Rachel and I, (Rachel also having worked at the School for over 20 years), decided that the sabbatical would be best spent hiking from Solihull School to Santiago de Compostella in Spain. The ‘Camino Frances’ as it is known to many, is around 800km, however, we were keen to do it the long way, and start 2,025km away, at Solsch!
The camino, from St Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenees, to Santiago is well signposted but we have had to plan the route for the other 700 miles through England and France.
We will be walking between 15 and 20 miles each day, for three months, with a rest day every 10 days, staying in hostels, B & Bs, with friends, and if needs be, the odd church doorway! We would be very keen to hear from anyone in the Solihull community who may be able to help with accommodation en-route. Please do contact me via email if you can help in any way, at: leonardn@solsch.org.uk
We shall be carrying all our clothing and equipment for the duration of the trek. Our journey will take us through three seasons, adding complexity to our choice of clothing and footwear!
We are self-funding this adventure and also raising money for Help for Heroes, linking to my role in the CCF, and for Medecins Sans Frontieres. The goal is to raise £2,025 for each charity, £1 per kilometre walked.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/nickandrachel2025km?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
https://www.justgiving.com/page/nickandrachs2smsf?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL
We are extremely grateful for the support the School has given us, and we hope to inspire students and staff alike to take on their own challenges. We leave at the end of the final assembly of this term, on non-uniform day, the proceeds of which will go towards the charities. We hope we have a ‘buen camino’ and we shall be reporting our progress via podcast and Instagram.
