Jurassic Coast Walk

In May and June of 2022, I embarked on the biggest challenge of my life, to walk the full length of the Jurassic Coast to raise awareness of my birth condition known as clubfoot. ​

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I had a different start to life than most. I was born with Bilateral Congenital Talipes Equinovarus, also known as “Clubfoot”. A condition that affects the shape of your feet, ankles and legs, it causes me daily pain and discomfort, meaning I cannot stand or walk for prolonged periods. So, you can imagine how much of a challenge walking the Jurassic Coast was.

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After my 26th birthday, I made a decision, I wanted to make a statement. I decided to walk the full length of the Jurassic Coast, that was my mission. In doing so my goal was to raise awareness of my condition, and show that this is NOT a hidden disability and is indeed a physical condition. During the walk, I wanted to show with undeniable clarity, the effects the condition causes on my physical and mental health. I wanted to shine a light on others who have the same conditions and I hope for us to come together and raise awareness of this as a collective.​

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The coastal walk is 95 miles in total, some of this rich landscape I was traversing, was in fact barely possible for someone in my shoes. There are several sections that are predominantly pebble, it is these that I physically had the most pain to endure while crossing and I found myself pushing my mental fortitude to the absolute limits. I would have given up at several points if not for the total support of my best friend of 22 years Mathew Jenkins, and my faithful companion the little dog Taz, both of whom accompanied me on the journey. We also had the invaluable help of many other people including Debbie Conibere, whose son also has clubfoot, as she helped us transport our heavy bags from site to site, to help take some of the pressure off us during the challenge. We walked almost 82 of the 95 miles over 14 days, with 4 days of much-needed rest. Near the end of the walk, my University friend Katie Medlin, came along for extra support.

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The Jurassic Coast is a beautiful and geologically rich coastline. It also holds a special place in my heart and created a lot of memories for me, seeing as I spent a lot of my family holidays visiting various sections of the coast. It was here that my passion for nature and the environment developed, searching for fossils and visiting many Natural History Museums with my grandparents. All this helped to cement the foundations of whom I would become and the causes I would champion.

The Jurassic Coast inspired me to become a qualified Zoologist and Herpetologist (specialist in Reptiles and Amphibians) and I proudly have a decade's worth of experience working with animals.

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But, my life almost turned out very differently, when I was only 13 years old (barely just deciding what to do with my future in general) I was told I'd have just 3 options due to the severity of my clubfeet,

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1. The first and least damaging was to do nothing- with the knowledge that between the ages of 25 and 30, I could be wheelchair-bound, severely limiting my independence.

2. The second was to have yet another operation (not counting the 4 previous correction attempts) but this would limit my walking abilities further and mean more time off my feet recovering.

3. This final option is what I will likely arrive at, no matter which other option comes first, and that is to have my feet amputated and have prosthetic legs.

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(As of writing this they are still researching and updating their knowledge on my condition so I remain ever optimistic that I can add a fourth option to my list.)

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Following these options, they advised a life working with animals would not be possible due to the amount of time spent on my feet. This caused me to almost divert from my passion, but ever the optimist, I was not deterred by this prognosis and instead I went on to complete a College and University degree in wildlife, I now work as a VIP guide at the West Midlands Safari Park where, day to day, I have plenty of hands-interactions with all sorts of amazing animals.​

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Below are organisations and charities that supported me and my team during the walk to help raise awareness of this condition and to help establish a social and governmental push for support. 
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