91-year-old Marguerite Burfitt, a resident at The Elms Nursing Home in Bembridge, has successfully completed a 6-mile walk, raising over £750 for the Isle of Wight Mencap.
Marguerite, who has lived at The Elms since August 2020, undertook the challenge with the home’s Activities Coordinator, Lucas Valvona. Their route began at Appley Tower in Ryde and continued along the coast to The Old Mill Wall at St Helen’s.
The Isle of Wight Mencap supports people with learning disabilities. Its vision is a world where people with learning disability are valued equally, listened to, and included.
Marguerite says:
“The weather was lovely for the walk; it wasn’t blisteringly hot, and we didn’t get wet either! I’ve walked and hiked all my life and used to love hiking along the coast with my husband. During the war, when I was very young, the army came and took our car, so we had no choice but to walk everywhere, so we got very used to it!”
“The route ended up being a little further than we thought, and we walked around eight miles in the end, but we didn’t mind! It’s important to keep moving – as soon as you stop, it’s harder to get going again.”
Lucas Valvona, Activities Coordinator at The Elms Nursing Home, says:
“Marguerite had a lovely time, I’m sure she’d happily do this walk once a week! We were very fortunate to have the perfect weather just before the heatwave. I look forward to walking with Marguerite again.”
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