In 2016, James decided to create a real challenge for the residents of Penrhyn House during the National Recovery Month of September. He arranged for them to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall over five days. The idea in conducting this expedition was two-fold. Firstly, to give the residents an occasion where they would go way beyond anything they thought they could achieve. Secondly, to challenge the stigmatisation of people with substance use problems in society, to show that people not only overcome their addiction, but are also capable of completing other serious challenges.
This event still gives James horrors when he thinks about it, since it turned out to be the hardest week of his working life. A bunkhouse was booked for six nights, from which their mini-bus took walkers to at the start of each day’s expedition, and returned them ‘home’ each afternoon. The facilities were primitive and there was no running water. However, every morning, the group sat on the grass eating porridge, croissants and other items, staring out in bright sunshine at the most sublime of views down into the valley.
The walk took place in a stunningly beautiful part of the world. The group marched on, adorned in their NWRC t-shirts which were specially designed for the occasion, and carrying a large NWRC banner. Everyone was physically and mentally exhausted by the end of each day, the level of exhaustion increasing as the journey progressed over days. They had all given so much and nobody would begrudge them if they gave up, but their friends weren’t giving up. So they kept going.
The end of the walk at Wallsend was sadly an anti-climax. The group arrived on a beautiful sunny day to find burnt out cars, wheelie bins, and dog shit covering the ground. The minibus arrived and someone turned on the radio. One of James’s favourite songs rang out, Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. The group just sat there, some of them physically destroyed, and enjoyed another sublime occasion. Everyone in the group was totally exhausted, but also exhilarated by a massive sense of accomplishment.
On the way home, they stopped at a posh Italian restaurant, which happened to be almost empty. The group staggered through the door, looking wild and exhausted and no doubt stinking. They sat down and ate a wonderful Italian meal, during which time they told the staff who they were and what they had been doing. The staff were blown away and the owner knocked 50% off the bill. What a wonderful end to an amazing trip!
NWRC has continued to have a 100-mile walk in September every year, each time along a coastal path in Wales, and always raising money for the NWRC charity. Last year, they spent seven days walking from Porthmadog to Bangor, via the Llŷn Peninsula coastal path. The team at Eternal Media have filmed parts of some of the walks, and in 2021 the expedition became an item on BBC News Wales.
James makes no apologies to Penrhyn residents about the toughness of their challenge. When they return to Penrhyn House, he tells them that the expeditions are designed to help them find out about themselves. They are deliberately designed to be hard work, to break them physically and mentally. He emphasises that as addicts, ‘we run from fear and pain, and give up at the first opportunity.’ But on these walks…