Gap year walk raises funds for Ramsgate RNLI
On Friday 19 October Ramsgate RNLI station was visited by Beth Wickes who has taken two years off to walk around the coastline of Britain visiting every lifeboat station.
This extraordinary lady decided in her mid forties to completely change her life. She enrolled herself into Worcester University studying a degree in Human Nutrition and when she left aged fifty, decided that she would take a couple of years out before starting work.
However instead of heading off abroad for her gap years, she decided to sell her home, put all her possessions other than those needed for her journey into storage and after six months of training set off from Tower RNLI station on 3 October 2018 to walk around the coastline of Britain raising money jointly for the RNLI and the Lowland Rescue.
With no support team, no physiotherapists and relying on the generosity of contacts within the Search and Rescue teams to put her up for the night, or finding bed and breakfast accommodation for herself, she has set herself a stiff challenge.
Ramsgate RNLI fund raising team and some of the crew were at Ramsgate RNLI station in force to meet her and wish her well as she started off on the next leg of her journey walking from Ramsgate to Deal, as she is hoping to average about twelve miles a day and complete her journey in two years.
You can follow her travels on bethfootforward.co.uk as well as her twitter and Facebook pages, but if you see her out and about wearing her distinctive vest go and say hello to her! The RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea, is entirely funded by donations from members of the public and we cannot thank people like Beth enough for their support.
Ends
Media Contacts:
Karen Cox RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer [email protected] 07779 848431.
Paul Dunt Regional RNLI Media Officer London and South East [email protected]. Tel 07785 296252.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.