Dorset 2025 - The 17th Walk

This year was different – it was BIG, very big! We pushed our limits…

  • Our 17th Walk – 680 individual miles walked or 111,040 miles combined since 2009
  • The number of participants passed 500 for the first time – a 1500% increase from the first walk.
  • The amount this year has gone into the £130,000 region – a 2000% increase from 2009
  • We are now transported by coaches – 6 this year (two double-deckers)
  • It was also the first time we stayed at Swanage and Wareham Rugby Club – creating our own separate and private venue

The obvious starting point is always the weather – it was a heatwave weekend across the UK. Fortunately, in some ways, it was slightly ‘less hot’ on the coast, but temperatures still reached the mid to high 20s°C. This made Day 1 particularly challenging—and on reflection, Days 2 and 3 weren’t far off that description either.

This year, the walking felt extreme. I’m convinced that for every degree above 23°C, the difficulty increases by at least 5% per degree. There’s so little shade along the route, and the gradients are utterly unforgiving!

We’ve made some recent adaptations to the walk as numbers have increased. We now slightly stagger start times, have reduced the regular catch-up breaks, and placed support teams along the route to assist walkers as they pass or stop for breaks.

This year, it was very much “Operation Hydration.” The support team was a fleet of vehicles and human dynamos.
Most notably, at Kimmeridge, cars were arranged wheel-to-wheel, with litres and litres of water being poured into TMWF bottles—an incredible effort to keep everyone going.

Day 2, with the landslide at Lulworth, meant a changed starting point—and due to the heat, a slight alteration to the route. The Travelator and the Beast conquered by the masses.
Day 3 included a stop at the Learning Centre in Durlston, which seemed to work much better logistically. Always a very long day with the surge of energy that appears in readiness for the Sprint Finish at Studland.

Each day there was also a steady flow of students who had reached their limits and needed to be transported back to the campsite. It truly tests you—physically and mentally.

As I’m learning and becoming increasingly more aware, for many, the challenge isn’t just the 40 miles of walking. It’s also being away from home and navigating the new experiences that come with that.

Everybody grows in Dorset—not just those who walk the full 40 miles.

Oddly, the reason the event works so well is because of the challenge.

A challenge, by definition, is:

A task or situation that tests someone’s abilities, skills, or resources.

Part of the mental challenge over the years has been learning what to do when things don’t quite go to plan. Now, we (or I) know it won’t go perfectly—but what would that even mean?

Ideal temperatures? Just hard enough to feel moderately fatigued? Feet only slightly uncomfortable? Climbs smaller and perfectly spaced out? Camping that provides easy sleeping? Mornings that don’t start so early? En-suite shower and toilet facilities?

Would that improve the event?

Actually… the camping bit does sound much more appealing!

Some of this year’s fun:

  • Lulworth lead-up planning issues
  • Risk assessment queries – including a site visit
  • AMVC’s coach breaking down on the M25 on the way down
  • National weather warnings
  • Ringstead not providing space as usual for Day 1 lunch
  • Support team space and access challenges for students leaving/returning to camp
  • Finding the right combination to ensure enough shower access
  • The usual student challenges – not following instructions, not drinking enough water, forgetting sun cream, etc.
  • More whats app groups than people.

Notable Other Items

  • T-shirt colours (and Sophie’s bracelets): Black, Grey, and Green
  • This year’s schools: Ken Stimpson Academy, Arthur Mellows Village College, Hampton Gardens, Ely College, Swavesey Village College, City of Peterborough Academy, Prince William School and Thomas Deacon Academy
  • There were several very personal reasons for individuals walking this year – you have many those special people very proud.
  • There were several returning ex-students who have previously walked and come for another go on the ‘adult side’!
  • Making the sprint finish work required staggered starts (and no phone signal)
  • Using Wareham and Swanage for the evening out
  • Caravans appeared among a fleet of motorhomes
  • The BBQ line was eager and long – the quality of food provided was excellent. It is incredible what the team produces!
  • The teenage energy that returns minutes after we return to camp – mass football on the rugby pitch, rounders, volleyball
  • Sophie Patman (Stuart’s daughter) joined us and completed the walk on her first attempt – incredible!
  • Emotional challenges – the difficulty of managing ourselves; in a pressure cooker of people and tiredness…
  • It’s often only the difficulties that are noticed. When you consider the variables – feeding 500, the scale of shower and toilet facilities needed, a walk completion rate of around 99%, individual complications almost nil

All things considered it went pretty smoothly.

My Reflections

This year marked a special milestone for me —William, my youngest son, completed the walk, meaning that for the first time, all three of my boys walked it alongside me. As a Whales family of five, we completed the Dorset Walk together. A very proud moment.

Also worth noting: during toast this year, I managed to hold it together! I now know my limits—and the words I can and can’t use. Despite the heckling from many of you who seem to enjoy my annual emotional collapse, I stayed composed (mostly!). It’s also worth mentioning the scale of the toast—a good job we had the clubhouse to fit everyone in.

And thank you to those who took a moment to share your appreciation with me. I know I don’t always show it in the moment (or handle it very well), but it means a lot.

An additional note – this year I walked with a logo that was Gaz Morris‘. Gaz lived locally and his family was one of the first families to go into Malcolm’s Retreat. Sadly, Gaz passed away shortly after his stay leaving a young family behind – a very significant reminder as to why we do what we do!

Volunteers

I make a point during the walk to remind participants just how hard people are working in the background.
Managing 500 people in a heatwave is incredibly challenging, pressurised, and exhausting.

The team has grown again this year to keep pace with the scale of the walk. I say it every year—because it’s true:

Without our dedicated individuals, the walk wouldn’t and couldn’t happen. Absolute superstars, each and every one of you.

Thank you.

 

Every year, I search to understand what this walk really is—and why it hits so deeply.
Oddly, I think it’s the suffering it creates. It drags you far out of your comfort zone and truly tests you.

Each year I worry that it’s too challenging. It feels like the world—and schools—are becoming increasingly risk-averse. There seems to be a shift toward removing risk entirely, rather than managing it. I strongly believe that growth and development multiply outside comfort zones. Zero risk or challenge is, by definition, a comfort zone.

The Dorset Walk, TMWF, and I are not about delivering a perfectly manicured “holiday.”

 

The walk drags you out of normal existence—it consumes you. You know what today and tomorrow will look like. You immediately sense the level of difficulty, and your mind fills with doubt: “Can I complete this?”

Each step, each mile, each hill pushes you. The tiredness swells, and the mental challenge begins. It’s a test—physical, mental, and emotional. It truly tests someone’s abilities, skills, and resources.

But… when you finish, the surge of endorphins hits. You look back on what you’ve achieved over the last few days.
The difficulties and challenges are appreciated and understood. The feeling of pride that is earnt by each individual — is then multiplied as you stand beside 499 others who know exactly what you’ve been through. And you know what they’ve been through.

We walk together. We suffer together. We succeed together.

That’s the power of the walk!

Donations

We received so many donations to help reduced the now eye-watering costs. You save us thousands of pounds!

A massive thank you to:

  • Hayley Greenwood – for the cakes
  • Hovis – provided bread and rolls
  • Faversham Eggs – Eggs and Sausages
  • R & C Parsons – Bacon
  • PEPSICO (and Alex Meredith)  – Crisps + Drinks
  • Hilton Meats – Mince and Burgers
  • Parrellel  – a transit vans full of fruit
  • MC Refrigeration – who donate the refrigerated trailor to us for free.

Alongside so many other sponsors who donated including a list of famers (thanks to Andy Emery) who donated between £100 to £500 each – thank you: Lattenbury Farmers, EC Brown Farmers, SA Brooks Farmers, CJ Large Farmers, JH Buckingham Farmers.

If I have missed anybody of please let me know and I will add you to the list (sorry if I have) themalcolmwhalesfoundation@gmail.com

We must remember why we do it:

  • The difference it makes to us as individuals
  • The difference we make to those facing extremely difficult life challenges
  • And in memory of Malcolm Whales, the reason this charity—and its incredible impact—exists

What have we raised:

  • This year’s walk and its fundraising has taken us into £130,000’s rasied!
  • The current amount raised by TMWF is now in excess of £750,000

What next:

  • Dorset 2026 – the walking dates are Friday 10th to Sunday 12th July

If you think we can help in anyway – get in touch!

See you next year!