The support of members of the RNA has always been
unwavering and when I took on the challenge of trekking along parts of the
Great Wall of China to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation, that
support from fellow members was the same.

I completed my challenge in October and myself and my
fellow twenty-seven trekkers raised over £52,000 for the cause, so thanks to
everyone for your support, be that through sponsorship or sharing my endeavours to
raise awareness.

The five days’ trekking had its unique challenges for
me. I was not too happy with heights, but ‘infinity steps’ were something else!
Talking of steps, I encountered thousands of them along the wall, from never
ending steps I had to clamber up to tiny little ones, which made my legs ache.

Most days we were off the beaten track on what we
quickly named the ‘wild wall’ and hardly ever saw anyone else. We all agreed
this was much nicer than the tourist parts which are easily accessible from
Beijing and thronging with people – even in the rain!

The group also had a day in Beijing where we went on
a jam-packed tour starting at The Temple of Heaven, with its peaceful park
where all the locals go each day to do everything from exercise to hold
knitting and chess clubs. Then onto the Pearl Market for a bit of bartering for
souvenirs before going to Tiananmen Square and finally The Forbidden City.