On Thursday 19th September, 100 Berry Bros. & Rudd colleagues set off on a 100km walk, to raise £100,000 for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation – a charity very close to our hearts. Our Buyer, Davy Żyw – the inspiration behind the walk – details what happened over those three days.

I write this sat in a grey, wet morning in Edinburgh. Autumn has arrived in full force, draining light from the day, sharpening the wind and making my nose run, all of which makes the thought of September’s walk even more miraculous and dreamlike.

Arriving into that morning at Beachy Head was surreal: high on the cliffs, surrounded by swirling cloud. The glimpses of rolling sea beneath were swathed by the gold light of dawn, which seemed to emulate the electric current running through us all.

The spirit of energy, excitement and positivity was palpable. In front of us, pure adventure, 100km of chalky paths, life-long memories yet to be made and 1000s of blisters yet to born.

At the point of departure, we had just hit our £100,000 fundraising target. This was a huge achievement in itself and testament to the incredible fundraising of our Charity Committee – as well as the amazing personal donations gathered by every member. But, as I announced to the group in our first huddle of the trip, people living with MND don’t give up at 100%. They need to go the extra mile.

And that’s exactly what we did.

Day One

This was the most dramatic section of the walk, as our path hugged the white cliff lines. The keen beans, led by our fit-as-a-fiddle Private Client Manager Fergus Stewart, pulled off at the front. The huddle of near 100 walkers soon dispersed and broke into intimate groups, often pairs, allowing for deep conversations. Conversations started about wine, work or the walk but often led elsewhere. These rich talks, which melted the kilometres away, were just not possible on last year’s bike ride – and for me, were the fuel I needed to keep me going for the next three days.

Seven Sisters National Park provided us with some shade before we headed inland and up, up onto the South Downs themselves. It was a welcome sight arriving at the gates of Rathfinny, the prospect of lunch and a glass of bubbles around the corner. To our dismay, it was still a good 40 minutes of walking up Cradle Valley to get to our buffet.

The afternoon heat was intense, an incarnation of Day One of our cycle last year. But we plodded and prevailed, up, over and then down onto the banks of the River Ouse – which looked very tempting for a dip as it meandered into Lewes. These last few flat miles were probably the hardest for me out of the whole trip. So hard in fact, that we just had to stop for some needed hydration at Harvery’s Brewery. And with 35km in the legs under a baking sun, that frothy cool pint had never tasted so fine.

After a small detour, we all congregated at camp to admire our support crew’s military tent erection skills. After a very welcome glass of Bibi Graetz, a burger and a massage to relieve the tension in my back and neck it was time for bed. Most of us crawled into our tents at a sensible time, some finished their three-day supply of whisky on the first night.

Day Two

Dawn broke, and the snore-shaming started. Once breakfasted we loaded up, meeting with a few new faces before walking straight up the calf-burning South Downs, looking down over Plumpton College, dodging tractors and livestock. Once into the rhythm of the day, we were all still charged with positivity, but the honeymoon was over. The blisters and injuries were real. I think we all took stock of the enormity of his challenge.

Lunch at Devils Dyke brought Guinness, and to the disgust of our Italian friend Daniele, who had joined us from Giovanni Rosso, mountains of fried beige food – just like home. The afternoon was tough, but each step brought us closer to camp and we rallied together, powered by stimulating conversation, the sharing in vulnerabilities and finding strength in one another.

We arrived at Chanctonbury Ring – an ancient site that was once a prehistoric hill fort, and you could just feel it was a place of significance. As we drank in the views, we received the warmest welcome from Wiston Estate’s owner Kirsty Goring, winemaker Marcus and GM Tori, who kept our glasses charged with delicious, cold sparkling wine from magnums. This was a special moment, basking in the later afternoon sunlight, high on life after a difficult day walking, toasting and cheering each finisher with huge applause. None received louder fanfare than our own Lizzy Rudd who, with iron grit, finished the day despite twisting her ankle only two days beforehand.

We bounced down the hill into the most idyllic campsite: neat rows of tents framed by Chardonnay vines. Piping hot showers, wood fired pizza and lot of laughs ensued – then it was time to fall into our tents.

Day Three

If it wasn’t the snoring that kept us awake, it was the storm which ripped through our camp in the early morning. Lighting illuminated the blue of our tents as thunder and rain rolled and ripped us away from sleep. What seemed like only moments later, it was 5:40am and time to get up. With almost 70km in our legs, there were many creaking bodies, sore joints and injured feet. The line for the medic tent was longer than breakfast queue, and game faces were on for many who had injuries and fatigue. Today there were a lot of personal battles to overcome.

We were joined by new faces, light feet, high hopes and our very own walking wine bottle: our Commercial Lead, Simon Robins. The injection of fresh energy gave everyone a boost and all of a sudden I wasn’t wishing the kilometres away, instead savouring every second of enjoyment of the conversations I was having, every step along  the leaf lined forest paths we were marching. I made every effort to be present in the moment, knowing this incredible experience was already in its twilight. The Bat & Hall gave us all refreshment, and a chance to regroup. We had Hambledon in our sights, and we arrived to a heroes’ welcome, arm in arm.

The finish line

Hugs, tears, smiles and jubilation were surrounded by the smell of the grill and the sound of popping corks. 100 colleagues had left in the rose gold light of dawn at Beachy Head, three days and 100km prior and arrived into the sunlit scene of Hambledon as firm friends. I hope the lasting legacy of this walk is the relationships we made, bound together by the shared suffering of this epic journey and the physical achievement we accomplished.

Our walk has raised £170,000, and counting. Together with the 325 cycle challenge, we have raised over £600,000 which goes directly into MND research.

It is such a precious thing to be given leave to live, and the fact that Berry Bros. & Rudd encourages these life experiences is something to be cherished. Their involvement and investment in our walk meant every penny we raised goes directly to help those with MND.

This disease is not incurable, it is just underfunded and with every penny we raised brings us closer to a world free of this devastating condition. The research is moving forward. Every month and year there are breakthroughs, but there are a lot of headwinds, and progress takes time to cascade through to patients.

Will a cure be found in our lifetimes? From the neurologists I know, they are confident we will. Fast enough for me? Unsure. But I’ve got no other options as to hope and do everything I can. And I feel so lucky as to have such a strong supportive team around me, mad enough to embark on these crazy fundraisers. I’ve never felt so alive.

There was a lot of discussion about what our next challenge could be.. and right now I’m not sure what mode of transport or country it will be in. But what I do know is that, whatever this amazing business and inspiring group put their minds to, it shall happen. With £600,000 raised so far… Project One Million is on the horizon and I can’t wait to share the experience with you all.

If you’d still like to support our fundraising efforts for My Name’5 Doddie, you can do so here.