Paul Golder raises over £5000 walking to Scotland

On 1 April, Phoenix FM boss Paul Golder set off on an epic challenge from Lands End to Scotland to raise £5,000 for Saint Francis Hospice. Injury forced him to cut his walk short but not before he walked over 700 miles and smashed his fundraising target. Paul was kind enough to answer our questions so we can find out more about his incredible experience and we think you'll find his reflections very inspiring!

Well done on your incredible challenge - you smashed your target of £5,000 and walked over 700 miles from Lands End to Scotland.

1. How do you feel looking back on what you achieved?

I'm very happy with the distance I walked. When I started I really didn't know if I was going to even get past the first week, especially since Cornwall's steep hills are so challenging. And I am very pleased too with the support I received from family, friends and colleagues. Over 100 people have donated to my Justgiving page so far.

Paul's incredible efforts raised an amazing £6,073 

2. What is the highlight of your trip?

My favourite day's walking was from Chepstow to Monmouth in south Wales, where I spent most of the day walking alongside the beautiful river Wye - it's definitely one of the prettiest parts of the UK. That day also included a walk through a very dark mile-long decommissioned railway tunnel - I was the only person for miles around, but I did share the tunnel with thousands of bats which I could hear but not see!

3. What surprised you most about the experience? Was it easier/harder than you expected?

The physical side was easier than I thought, as I was able to get up and knock off 12-15 miles every day without any real problems and I didn't think I had that in me. The mental side was much harder though - I consider myself someone who likes his own space, but walking on your all every day for 8 weeks, and then spending evenings on your own too was a much harder challenge than I expected.

I was also surprised that for long periods of my walk, I lost my appetite. I was burning 6,000 calories a day and it's really hard to keep your calorie intake high when you're not hungry.

4. What do you wish you knew before you set off? (can you give us your 3 top tips!)

You can expect to get a lot of aches and pains walking so many miles every day, but the worst pain I had was when I picked up shin splints after walking on pavements in Cheshire and Lancashire for a week.

• Wearing compression sleeves on each shin really helped get rid of this and kept them from coming back too.
• Good socks helped blisters stay away. I wore two pairs every day - a thin pair of merino wool socks and a thicker pair of hiking songs over the top. These kept my blisters away for over 500 miles and the blisters only came back when the socks wore out.
• As I was staying in bed and breakfasts, Scotland needed a lot of planning - there are fewer places to stay and more walkers and tourists booking them up, particularly on the West Highland Way from Glasgow to Fort William. This trail is very picturesque but challenging and needs a lot of preparation.

5. Has it changed your perspective on life/people in any way?

I was amazed to have so many people help me out - virtually everyone I met was so nice that it really did change the way you think about human nature.

6. What would you say to someone who was looking to take up the challenge?

You can never prepare enough for a challenge like this - make sure you don't overdo it and try and walk more miles than you're physically able to. You need to keep your energy levels high enough to bounce back every day. Don't be afraid to go over budget too - you're not likely to be doing a walk like this every year!

There's still time to sponsor Paul! Click here to visit his JustGiving page and donate.