On March 17th Kerstin Banham (72) and Nick Banham (82) will be putting themselves and their bus passes to the test as they plan to board 18 buses from Daventry in the Midlands to the most southernly part of the country – Lands’ End, in just four days.
The couple who married 52 years ago, wanted to mark Nick’s 83rd birthday in a less conventional way and instead plan to spend it sat on a bus whilst raising funds for a charity very close to their hearts; Harry’s Pals.
Last year the pair decided that 2025 would be the year they set themselves a challenge, unsure of what to do and limited by various ailments they settled on a plan to get them all the way to Lands’ end with just a backpack, a flask of tea and a couple of OAP bus passes.
On March 17th the day before Nick’s 83rd birthday the couple will board the 200 bus from Daventry to Banbury and begin the first of many bus journeys. Over four days the determined duo will travel through Oxford, Swindon, Bath, Exeter, Wadebridge, Truro and Penzance before finally making it to Lands’ End. They will face four days sitting on a multitude of local, short distance buses where they can use their pensioners passes. In-between journeys they will brave cold weather, walking to get to the next connecting bus and hours of waiting around.
Kerstin and Nick have been supporting Harry’s Pals charity for several years and have been real advocates for the cause. Kerstin commented “I had never realised the lack of emotional support available to parents of severely ill and disabled children until I met Hayley, founder of Harry’s Pals, and since then we have been very keen to support the charity. This is going to be no mean feat for us, Nick has had two major operations on his back and problems with his knee too so whilst I am looking forward to the challenge, I am also a bit apprehensive about the toll it may take on us. However, we are both incredibly determined to wave our Harry’s Pals flag when we make it to Lands End.”
Hayley Charlesworth, founder of Harry’s Pals commented: “We are so grateful to Kerstin and Nick for planning this fantastic challenge so that we can support more families who have recently received a diagnosis that their child has a life threatening or life limiting condition. I have seen the itinerary for their journey, and I imagine the pair might be regretting their decision at certain points and be desperate for a bit more warmth and comfort. We are so thankful to them and will be following their journey and rooting for them. We really do hope that everyone will get behind them and support them for their wonderful efforts.”
Please if you can donate to support Kerstin and Nick go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/pensioners-pilgrimage or scan the QR code.
Whatever you can afford will make a big difference to Harry’s Pals.
To find out more about the charity please go to www.harryspals.org.
