Essex to Blackwatertown: ‘We walked 500 miles’ say best pals

The friends walked about 30km per day and battled everything from the blistering sun of England’s recent heatwave to heavy rain in Scotland.

Donnelly said: “Being on the road for almost six weeks, is a lot.

“It was tough so, I guess, mostly I feel relief we’ve done it and it feels like a real achievement.

“Scotland was memorable because of the extreme wet weather, but once you are completely soaked and you can’t get anymore soaked than you already are, you get used to it.”

Originally from Keady in County Armagh but now living in Austria, Donnelly is no stranger to gruelling long-distance walks.

In 2017 he walked more than 2,500km from Austria to Armagh in memory of his mother who had passed away with dementia.

Gribbin, who is originally from Blackwatertown, but now lives in Essex, said the pair knew their latest challenge was going to be particularly physically challenging.

“The heat during the first two to three weeks, in particular, made it difficult,” he said.

“Walking long distances with a backpack in temperatures of around 35 degrees was exhausting, but we very quickly adapted our approach and got back on track, so much so that we finished earlier than initially anticipated.”

Along the way Gribben spent a day in hospital on a drip after becoming majorly dehydrated, due to unprecedented temperatures.

“I had to stay there for 24 hours, they pumped a lot of fluid into me, gave me a clean bill of health and off I went again,” he said.

“It has certainly been challenging, but we kept each other going through the difficult times. We are just so pleased to finally get home to County Armagh.”