Best Foot Forward For Fiona
Best Foot Forward For Fiona

Robert Sim

May 09, 2024

Best Foot Forward For Fiona

Starting 9 May I am planning to walk the length of the Outer Hebrides from Vatersay to the Butt of Lewis (approximately 190 miles) in memory of my wife Fiona. We spent our honeymoon on the Isle of Barra in May 1990 and after a holiday on Benbecula with Fiona's Mum in 2022 we planned to return to Barra in 2023. We didn't get to fulfil that plan, on 12 January 2023 Fiona was taken ill with a brain tumour and after undergoing a craniotomy was given her devastating diagnosis of an aggressive Gliobastoma multiforme on her 59th birthday. Fiona went through 6 weeks chemoradiation at The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle and also joined a clinical trial that required her to take a foul tasting drink 3 times a day at 8 hourly intervals - including 1 o'clock in the morning - but by the end of August she had developed clots on her lungs and she became too exhausted to undergo any further treatment. At the end of September she was admitted to Eden Valley Hospice in Carlisle and died on 25 October. 2023. The three charities I am fundraising for are very important to us as a family, during the 6 weeks of chemoradiation and subsequent appointments at The Freeman Hospital we were regular visitors to Maggie's for a cup of tea, a chat or just a quiet corner, we were both looked after wonderfully at Eden Valley Hospice and Brain Tumour Research is dedicated to helping everyone affected by a brain tumour to live a longer, better life.
Fiona spent a lifetime helping family, friends and others as a health visitor and in various voluntary roles, including raising over £4200 for a cot death charity by completing an arduous trek in the Peruvian Andes in 2004.
I will be walking solo until I reach Harris when family will hopefully join me for some sections and all donations will be gratefully received.

Supporting

Maggie's
Maggie's

Health | SC024414

33%

Maggie’s is a charity providing free cancer support and information in centres across the UK and online.

Eden Valley Hospice
Eden Valley Hospice

Health | 1008796 A

34%

Eden Valley Hospice is a charity dedicated to providing specialist care for adults in north Cumbria who have life limiting conditions. In addition, we also provide care for their families, friends and carers. All the care the hospice provides to its patients and their families is free at the point of delivery.

Brain Tumour Research
Brain Tumour Research

Health | 1153487

33%

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer. Help us in our vision to find a cure.

Updates

And finally.......

Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me through this challenge, your generosity with donations is amazing but really just goes to show how highly thought of Fiona was, the amount raised will be a great help to …

Thoughts on undertaking the Hebridean Way

So how did my walk work out? I started by estimating how many days I would need to walk the 190 odd miles and gave myself 18 days which included for extra walking to and from start and finish points. …

The end of the road

This post marks the end of the Hebridean Way cycle route so I borrowed it for the end of my 225 mile walk, it took me 7 hours with several stops to walk the 16 miles from Tolsta to here …

Butt of Lewis Lighthouse

Built by brothers David and Thomas Stevenson in 1862 it remains an important beacon for shipping and was fully automated in 1998, apparently Thomas considered his son Robert Louis to be a great disappointment by not following in the family …

First view of the lighthouse

I crossed the bridge over the sea to the medieval fort of Dun Eistean, it has a see through metal mesh base so is not for the faint hearted! The remainder of the walk is a grassy path that in …

Collapsing cliffs

The trail goes within 30m of this recent cliff collapse, I kept well away!

Heritage Trail to Ness

The route is well described on this information board, it certainly isn't one to undertake on a misty day without the views and with the proximity to the cliff tops. The only thing I was slightly disappointed with was the …

My lunchtime view

I could have sat here for hours enjoying the sun, the sounds and the views but it was going to be a long haul so had to to drag myself away and get walking again.

The Famous Bridge to Nowhere

My last day of this walk, I drove up to the Butt of Lewis lighthouse and parked my car then caught the bus back to Stornoway Bus Station followed by the bus up to Tolsta, I could have just used …

Interesting memorial cairn

This cairn is a tribute to the men of Upper Coll who returned from WW1 and were promised by the government a fair distribution of land but this never materialised so they took possession of the land in 1921 and …

Keep on trucking

I liked this planter! Hopefully I will complete the 17-18 miles from Tolsta to the Butt of Lewis tomorrow and can have a rest day on Sunday.

Farewell to Finmore Cottage

It was an early start today because Tom, Kristen, Ed and Rocco needed to check in to Tarbert by 06.30 to catch the ferry to Uig on Skye, and despite that early start they took until nearly 7.30 pm to …

Harris Distillery tour

I had a day off from walking today, it's been a very strong gusty wind from the north making it very cold although only a few drops of rain so far. Andrew and Helen caught the ferry back to Skye …

Cheers!

Fortunately we had booked a table at the Stornoway Distillers @ The Fank, lots of people came in and were turned away as it was full. The meal was excellent, I chose gin soaked trout followed by skate wings and …

End of the Hebridean Way

The marker post is out front of the Woodlands Cafe so we went in for some refreshment and Ed joined us after his visit to the some Black Houses in north Lewis, he definitely had the whiff of peat smoke …

Company for the last part of The Hebridean Way

Andrew and Helen joined me for the walk from Achmore to Stornoway, it was lovely to have them join me for this final section. It was all on a quietish single track road and heads to the finish point through …

Sunset from Finmore Cottage

We have had some amazing skies, this was Tuesday evening taken from the road in front of the cottage.

Callanish Standing Stones

After we finished our walk today we went to visit the Callanish Standing Stones, the Visitor Centre also had a tearoom so we were looking forward to a brew. True to form the tearoom was closed and we timed our …

More lochs and hills

The views from the high points were stunning again today. There must be thousands of lochs dotted across the Hebrides and the terrain on Harris and Lewis is much rockier and mountainous than the rest of the islands.

Balallan to Achmore

Ed joined me today and we parked a car at the start and finish to make getting back easier. 4 out of the 8 miles were across another peaty moor but it wasn't as soggy as some of the previous …

Boardwalk as far as the eye can see

As you descend down through the woodland towards the A859 the path becomes a boardwalk that appears to go on for miles - it must have cost a fortune. This section was followed by a mile or two along the …

Ghost trees

This photograph shows the devastating effects of Pine Beauty Moth infestation on the Lodgepole Pine at Aline Community Woodland, this woodland was bought from the Forestry Commission in 2007 and is now managed by The Erisort Trust. The HW takes …

Lewis to the left, Harris to the right

This burn marks the boundary of the two islands and we are looking east down Loch Seaforth out to sea, it has been a beautiful day today, blue skies and sunshine all day long. I was disappointed that the local …

View from Finmore Cottage

Our cottage has great views out westwards over Loch a Siar

Luskentyre Beach

After supper we drove back south towards Seilebost and made our way down to Luskentyre Beach, Kristen went in for a swim and Rocco followed her in. The island in the background is Taransay and we can see the other …

The Wee Croft Shop

No idea what The Wee Croft Shop was selling as it was padlocked shut! It is near Tarbert at the start of our afternoon walk, I had the morning off so tried to fix the door handle Tom pulled off …

One of many abandoned blackhouses

There are scores of these on the islands but I have also seen a number of them that have been restored and are now let as holiday accommodation, there are also a lot of new houses being built. Saw no …

Look who I bumped into

Tom and Kristen dropped me off at Seilebost and then went off to do their own runs, and as I walked up the Coffin Road I bumped into Kristen and Grandpup Rocco. The walk today was nowhere near as uneven …

Traigh Luskentyre

Some great views on the Scarista to Seilebost section of the HW, they helped make up for the hard and slow walk. I arrived at Finmore Cottage at Ardhasaig around 5.30pm to find Tom, Kristen and Rocco had already made …

Goodbye to Charlie's

So it's Friday 17th and after a week staying in the flat at Charlie's on Benbecula it was time to move up to Harris, but not before trying their full Scottish Breakfast . If anyone is ever in the vicinity …

Hardy rowan growing in the shelter of the burn

Whilst on Harris I got into conversation with a lovely young couple who were cycling called Laura and Euan from Dundee, they asked me about my walk and the fundraising and it turns out this was their honeymoon. And then …

Northton Sands from the top of the valley

It was a great view of the beach but you can probably see the mist starting to roll in and by the time I was down to the road the hills were covered so it was very good timing. I …

Loch na Moracha, Harris

I caught the ferry from Bernaray to Leverburgh this morning (had to drive like a local to get there in time!) and made a start on the Harris section of the HW. The photo shows the valley beyond the Loch …

Peat cutting on North Uist

On the first part of the walk today there was evidence that peat cutting for fuel is still a big thing.

Berneray from Beinn Mhor

Beinn Mhor is only 190m but after an energy sapping splash across the peat for a couple of miles it felt more like Ben Nevis! You should be able to make out the causeway across from North Uist to Berneray.

Hercules the Bear

Change of plan today, decided to finish off the Uists and Berneray in one go. Started from Langass Lodge and soon encountered Hercules the bear, apparently he went AWOL whilst filming a commercial in 1980 and was found after 24 …

No trolls living here

Severely storm damaged bridge near the end of today's walk, it had a definite wobble to it as I tiptoed over. A lot of the walk has been along the roads, and there is a huge variation in how fast …

Misty Reuval

It was a bit disconcerting when the walk guide stated "descent is to the North, there is no path or markers until quite a long way down....." and I can only see 10-20m ahead! To be fair it did give …

Our Lady of the Isles

My lunchtime companion today. So far I have walked 87.2 miles (using Jonny's garmin watch) and completed 59.3 miles of the Hebridean Way. And for the eagle-eyed of you I didn't walk across a pear in the previous post - …

Loch na Lice Baine

18.5 miles today, caught the bus at Carnan and got dropped off as close to Ormacleit Castle as possible. Had my waterproofs on as I waited for and travelled on the bus and they were off within 0.25 miles of …

Our wedding anniversary trip to Fife 2019

Having a celebratory drink after completing the Aberdour to Kirkcaldy part of the Fife Coastal Path. It was this walk when we realised it was Fiona's back that was causing her pain and not the new hip and that ultimately …

Culla Bay, Benbecula

Another dry and occasionally sunny day, I decided to jump ahead to complete a good chunk of the Benbecula section as it meant only a 4.5 mile walk back to the car in the absence of buses. So tomorrow I …

Loch Bornish

Walked 22.28 miles today and 18.6 were the HW. Used the bus to get to Eriskay Ferry and got up  to Castle Ormacleit. Spent the first 10 miles walking with a gent called Graham who lives in Tobermory and we …

Traigh Eias beach

Much improved weather so walked around Beinn Tangabhal this morning as I missed out due to the mist yesterday. Then drove up to the airport and walked the beach on the west side where we spent much of our time …

Trees and windscreen wiper

So there are some trees growing here!

When I drove onto the ferry in Oban I had a full set of wipers on the car, when I drove off the rear one was missing! Alerted by the scraping sound I had …

Lunch on the house

Called in to Garadh Community Cafe at Northbay for a bowl of soup and cup of tea and when they read my story they wouldn't take any payment so I have added it to my collection tin. Very kind of …

Rainy start

It was a very damp start on Wednesday evening but I managed to walk the length of the east facing beach opposite Vatersay Community Hall and then back to Barra. Saw the Annie Jane memorial and remains of the Catalina …

We still had some fun

Fiona had to retire in March 2020 as a result of her scoliosis, then the pandemic hit and I was furloughed for 3 months and we actually enjoyed that time together so much we decided I should take VR which …

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£1,200 target | 125 supporters

Charities Supporting

Maggie's
33%
Eden Valley Hospice
34%
Brain Tumour Research
33%