A walk to the Rock
I don’t suppose most of you reading this will have the first idea
of the distance between Torrox, (Málaga) and Gibraltar. This is
not because you are lacking in interest or indeed an education,
it’s because it’s too far, and it’s way too warm to even think
about it. Well, it’s 111 miles to be precise, and two very fit
young soldiers are about to undertake the task, to raise funds
to help Homeless Veterans. The two walkers are Craig Dignam
and Danny O’Connor, and they plan to set off from Torrox on
April 17, arriving in Gibraltar on April 20/21, no doubt very
tired and hopefully very satisfied at reaching their target of
£2000. On the subject of fundraising, you can make a
donation to this endeavour at
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Craig-Dignam3
way due to painful back injuries incurred during military
service. So, with a fellow serving soldier from the Parachute
Regiment, he decided to walk from Blackpool Tower to St
Johns hospice in Lancaster - the task was completed in 10
hours, covering a distance of 46 miles.
The Hospice in Hull - he walked with his son-in-law who
serves with 1Bn Yorkshire Regiment from Bradford Bulls
Stadium to Hornsea. This walk was extremely challenging, just
shy of 75 miles. They did it in just under three days.
Walk 100 was the next big walk - five members of his own
family, Craig, his brother, and three nephews include Danny
(who is walking again this time), managed to walk from Walsall
Football Ground to Valley Parade through the Peak District
(100 miles) raising funds for St John’s Hospice again and the
Burns unit in Bradford. This was to date his hardest challenge,
especially with family who were not accustomed to walking
long distances over a short period - three days!
Craig joined the Army as a 17-year-old from Bradford, joining
the local Armoured Corps Regiment 4th/7th Royal Dragoon
Guards. In his own words, “I have been extremely fortunate to
serve in The Armed Forces for 36 years with many regiments
and corps within and even though many of those years have
been spent away from my parents and siblings and at times
many months away from my children I have been blessed with
being a member of a special big family who have seen me and
my family through some poignant times”. He currently works
with all three of the Services, Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air
Force in an HR Administrative roll.
Craig’s last challenge was to raise money for all three services
RN, RAF and Army by walking at least three miles a day
continuously for six months, which he completed on June 1,
2018, walking a total 897 miles.
The Torrox to Gibraltar challenge will definitely be Craig’s
most challenging test, but one that means so much to him as it
is becoming all too frequent to hear of old friends and
members of the Armed Forces, living rough on the streets. He
is confident that with Danny at his side, encouraging and
supporting him, they will be successful. This walk in Spain will
raise funds for SSAFA - Homeless Veterans, and although there
are many charities that help with this problem, Craig wanted
to raise the money for a military minded charity. His goal is to
reach £2000 but anything is amazing. Craig and Danny will
walk from Torrox along the south coast of Spain to Gibraltar
Rock peak, which is approximately 111 miles, further than any
of his previous challenges. Failure is not an option as they both
believe so much what SSAFA are doing to support Homeless
Veterans.
About 15 years ago he decided it was time to give back and
started fundraising for local and national charities, but then
decided to really challenge himself and try to keep fit at the
same time. Long walks, it was decided, would have to be the
Although the boys will have family to support them here on
the ground, any help from the community here in Spain will
be gratefully appreciated, if you can help in any small way
please contact:- [email protected] and don’t forget...
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Craig-Dignam3
...any donation at all will help Craig and Danny to get those
that let us sleep sound in our beds at night, off the streets and
into that which we all take for granted!
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