On 20th May 2016, serial fundraiser and Moveit4Smiles ambassador Christina Chatfield turned her money-raising efforts up another notch by completing her very own pilgrimage!
Venturing abroad for a new challenge, Christina tackled the mighty Pyrenees mountain range by completing one of the toughest walks in the world; the Camino de Santiago. Widely known as the the most popular but one of the trickier routes of the “Way of St. James”, Christina took it all in her stride and was able to finish the walk.
Christina began her mission at the town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Pont on the French side of the Pyranees.
Across the coming days and weeks, she successfully navigated her way through a wide range of terrain. The vibrant green valleys of Galicia, the vast plains of Sierra de Campos and the sticky inner-city humidity of Burgos, Leon, Pamplona and Santiago all came and went, with Christina still standing.
Some 490 miles and five weeks had passed, but Christina managed to reach Camino de Compostela, the conclusion of Camino de Santiago, on the 24th June. She also managed to make one million steps in the process, some feat indeed!
Discussing her trek with us, Christina commented on her immense satisfaction at chalking another hike off the hit-list in aid of Moveit4Smiles.
Christina said: “With each activity, event or walk we complete, more and more people are raising money for MoveIt4Smiles and are hopefully learning something new about their oral health.
“With mouth cancer numbers multiplying year on year, I felt it was crucial to do my bit to tackle it by to completing another walk to raise awareness for our cause.
“I am delighted that I have managed to complete the 500Miles4Smiles Scotland-Brighton walk, the Brighton & Hove two day walking marathon and now the Camino de Santiago all in the space of a couple of years. Yet there is still much work to be done in educating people on important oral health matters like mouth cancer, and I look forward to planning more events in aid of Moveit4Smiles.”
Join us and show your support
Together we can create a world where fewer people are affected by mouth cancer and help Brits become more aware of HPV, a potentially deadly virus.
This May, we will be heading to the Isle of Skye to take on Bla Bheinn and we would love you to join us!
On 2 May 2020, we will walk the coast of Boreraig and Suisnish. It will be a fun trek of 16.5km with a small ascent of 350m, an ideal one to take part in if you don’t have much hiking experience.
On 3 May 2020, we’ll be heading for the big climb – Bla Bheinn. It is also known as the Blue Mountain and is said to be one of the most magnificent mountains in Britain. This is a tougher route than the previous day with some rocky terrain and a ascent of a whopping 990m.
On the trek, we’ll have a group of guides and experts to help you along the way and make sure you enjoy the experience as much as possible.
Feel free to join us for either day or both. Whether you come on your own or with a group, we hope you will join us.
