The walk of life
Encyclopedia
The Walk of Life was an expedition from London
to Khartoum
in the Sudan
that began on 5 December 1985 on the South Bank
, London and was completed on 22 April 1986 in Khartoum, Sudan. The distance covered was 2,500 miles. It was organized and led by John Abbey. There were five members of the team. Three walked; John Abbey, Brian Seymour, and Andrew Stuart, and two drove the back-up vehicle; Alan Munro and Peter Lawton. Their involvement was to organize publicity and fundraising on-route and to support the walkers in the desert. It is notable that this was the first time anyone had walked from London to the Sudan.
and War on Want
. George Galloway
, then Chief Executive of War on Want came to the start of the walk in London. Other notable supporters included Bob Geldof
who sent John a note hoping he had "a comfy pair of shoes" and rock group Dire Straits
who donated a Brothers in Arms
Gold Disc as the walk was the same name as their hit single "Walk of Life
". Money was raised by the general public and from schools, most notably Orleans Park School
where John Abbey attended and Lady Manners School
where Pete Lawton and Andy Stuart attended. Schools raised money across the UK, Europe and in Egypt. The walk was sponsored by major companies including: British Airways
, DHL
, Hitachi
, Novetel, Hilton Hotels
and gained support from the Belgium Government, authorities in Italy and Egypt.
With the Alps behind them and while travelling through Verona, they met a group of women that invited them back to their house. With nowhere to stay and still bitterly cold they gladly accepted only to find that all three women were in fact transvestites and wanted to sleep with two of the walkers! A hurried escape ensued at 3am. This contrasted with the hospitality of Benedictine Monks, The Hilton Hotel, Novetel Hotel group many families and schools on route.
While walking along a stretch of highway in France the team were stopped by the police. They did not understand why the team were walking on the highway. Trying to explain that they were walking to Africa only made them look even more ridiculous. (Their French was pretty bad). The boys were driven back 10 kilometers from where they had started that morning. They had no choice but to begin again, this time keeping an eye out for the police and holding a hand written note written by a local explaining what they were doing. 5 kilometers into the walk the Police stopped them again, read the note and insisted they helped out by giving them a lift! They had no choice but to get into the police car and were driven to their next destination! On arrival they thanked the Police got Alan and the back up car to pick them up, drove them back and began walking along the same stretch of highway for the third time. This time at night.
Suffering from terrible stomach problems, Brian was forced to use pages from Bob Geldof's book "Is that it?" Luckily he had finished reading it!
Children constantly stoned them as they walked through villages in Upper Egypt. Life of Brian had nothing on us.
The shortest route is normally a straight line. This meant crossing vast expanses of desert where no back-up vehicle could go. On one occasion the team walked for two days across open sand only to find a 1,000 foot gorge separating them from their destination. They had to turn round, and survive for a further two days with very little water and no food. John Abbey commented: “When you feel so light you could drift away forever and not care; then you know you are severely dehydrated, at that point no water and shade means certain death, we were close, really close to our maker”
Ferry to Ostend in Belgium
Ostend to Brussels
Brussels to Luxembourg
Luxembourg to Bern (Switzerland)
Bern to Milan via Simplon Pass
(Italy)
Milan to Verona
Verona to Venice
Boat from Trieste to Alexandria Egypt
Alexandria to Cairo
Cairo to Aswan
Aswan to Wadi Halfa (Sudan)
Wadi Halfa to khartoum
Total distance 2,500 miles
Total time 4 months and 3 weeks
Average daily distance walked 25 miles
Maximum covered in one day 70 miles
The most generous country in terms of individuals and businesses that helped the walkers was: Belgium. In order of generosity:
Belgium
UK
Italy
Switzerland
Luxembourg
Egypt
France
Sources
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Khartoum
Khartoum
Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
in the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
that began on 5 December 1985 on the South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
, London and was completed on 22 April 1986 in Khartoum, Sudan. The distance covered was 2,500 miles. It was organized and led by John Abbey. There were five members of the team. Three walked; John Abbey, Brian Seymour, and Andrew Stuart, and two drove the back-up vehicle; Alan Munro and Peter Lawton. Their involvement was to organize publicity and fundraising on-route and to support the walkers in the desert. It is notable that this was the first time anyone had walked from London to the Sudan.
Purpose of the Expedition
The aim of the walk was to highlight the famine in the Horn of Africa. The starvation John witnessed galvanized him to act by planning and leading the walk. He wanted to make a point. If he could walk to Khartoum in 5 months how much more could Governments do in a matter of days. It was a symbolic gesture but also raised considerable funds for two leading charities, Christian AidChristian Aid
Christian Aid is the official relief and development agency of 40 British and Irish churches and works to support sustainable development, alleviate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa and Asia...
and War on Want
War on Want
War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London, England. It seeks to highlight the needs of poverty-stricken areas around the world and lobbies governments and international agencies to tackle problems as well as raising public awareness of the concerns of developing nations while...
. George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, then Chief Executive of War on Want came to the start of the walk in London. Other notable supporters included Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof
Robert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
who sent John a note hoping he had "a comfy pair of shoes" and rock group Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
who donated a Brothers in Arms
Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits album)
- Original LP track listing :- 2005 Re-Issue 2 LP track listing :The 2005 Limited Edition Deluxe 180 gram High Performance Vinyl reissue contained the full-length versions of all songs by spreading out the songs over two half speed mastered LPs....
Gold Disc as the walk was the same name as their hit single "Walk of Life
Walk of Life (Dire Straits song)
"Walk of Life" is a 1985 song by the British rock band Dire Straits. It appeared on their best-selling album Brothers in Arms. It subsequently appeared on their live album On the Night. It was released as a single in November 1985 but had first been available as the b-side of "So Far Away" released...
". Money was raised by the general public and from schools, most notably Orleans Park School
Orleans Park School
Orleans Park School is a mixed, state-run comprehensive secondary school located in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, 10 miles south-west of central London.Orleans Park teaches pupils in years 7–11 , with 8 tutor groups in each school year...
where John Abbey attended and Lady Manners School
Lady Manners School
Lady Manners School is an English secondary school and Specialist Music College as designated by the Specialist Schools Trust situated in Bakewell, a market town in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire...
where Pete Lawton and Andy Stuart attended. Schools raised money across the UK, Europe and in Egypt. The walk was sponsored by major companies including: British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, DHL
DHL
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post providing international express mail services. DHL is a world market leader in sea and air mail....
, Hitachi
Hitachi
Hitachi is a multinational corporation specializing in high-technology.Hitachi may also refer to:*Hitachi, Ibaraki, Japan*Hitachi province, former province of Japan*Prince Hitachi and Princess Hitachi, members of the Japanese imperial family...
, Novetel, Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
and gained support from the Belgium Government, authorities in Italy and Egypt.
Europe Adventure Highlights
Walking across the Alps in the middle of winter, temperatures would drop to -20c. John's first job in the morning was to de-frost his contact lenses by putting them under his arm pit. Walking for up to 10 hours a day resulted in icicles forming on the walker’s eyelashes making it impossible to open the eyes unless constantly removed. Wet feet led to horrendous blistering, often resulting in open wounds that would not heal.With the Alps behind them and while travelling through Verona, they met a group of women that invited them back to their house. With nowhere to stay and still bitterly cold they gladly accepted only to find that all three women were in fact transvestites and wanted to sleep with two of the walkers! A hurried escape ensued at 3am. This contrasted with the hospitality of Benedictine Monks, The Hilton Hotel, Novetel Hotel group many families and schools on route.
While walking along a stretch of highway in France the team were stopped by the police. They did not understand why the team were walking on the highway. Trying to explain that they were walking to Africa only made them look even more ridiculous. (Their French was pretty bad). The boys were driven back 10 kilometers from where they had started that morning. They had no choice but to begin again, this time keeping an eye out for the police and holding a hand written note written by a local explaining what they were doing. 5 kilometers into the walk the Police stopped them again, read the note and insisted they helped out by giving them a lift! They had no choice but to get into the police car and were driven to their next destination! On arrival they thanked the Police got Alan and the back up car to pick them up, drove them back and began walking along the same stretch of highway for the third time. This time at night.
Africa Adventure Highlights
Held up at gun point and asked to hand over all their money. Gave them the charity letter explaining what they were doing in Arabic and ended up receiving money from the robbers!Suffering from terrible stomach problems, Brian was forced to use pages from Bob Geldof's book "Is that it?" Luckily he had finished reading it!
Children constantly stoned them as they walked through villages in Upper Egypt. Life of Brian had nothing on us.
The shortest route is normally a straight line. This meant crossing vast expanses of desert where no back-up vehicle could go. On one occasion the team walked for two days across open sand only to find a 1,000 foot gorge separating them from their destination. They had to turn round, and survive for a further two days with very little water and no food. John Abbey commented: “When you feel so light you could drift away forever and not care; then you know you are severely dehydrated, at that point no water and shade means certain death, we were close, really close to our maker”
Route the Team took
London to DoverFerry to Ostend in Belgium
Ostend to Brussels
Brussels to Luxembourg
Luxembourg to Bern (Switzerland)
Bern to Milan via Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont . The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland...
(Italy)
Milan to Verona
Verona to Venice
Boat from Trieste to Alexandria Egypt
Alexandria to Cairo
Cairo to Aswan
Aswan to Wadi Halfa (Sudan)
Wadi Halfa to khartoum
Total distance 2,500 miles
Total time 4 months and 3 weeks
Average daily distance walked 25 miles
Maximum covered in one day 70 miles
Generosity by Country
The team raised money in the UK and across Europe from schools, companies and individuals. Generosity from countries the team travelled through varied tremendously.The most generous country in terms of individuals and businesses that helped the walkers was: Belgium. In order of generosity:
Belgium
UK
Italy
Switzerland
Luxembourg
Egypt
France
Update 2008
Book: The Walk of Life to be published in 2009 in memory of Brian Seymour who died from a Brain Tumor aged just 26.Sources