Takeley woman Suzy Connolly completes Land’s End to John o’ Groats trek in memory of her dad and raises £11,000 for Dementia UK
On every step of the 1,080 miles that Suzy Connolly walked on her epic trek from Land’s End to John o’ Groats (LEJOG), her dad was always at the forefront of her mind.
The 60-year-old retired graphic designer, who lives in Takeley, embarked on the LEJOG on March 30 in memory of Geoff Morris, who had completed the mammoth walk 22 years ago, and to raise money for Dementia UK.
The Indie had caught up with the mother-of-two in April, three days into the trek, as she grappled with disappearing footpaths in Cornwall, and that remained an abiding lowlight throughout.
A lack of use for the footpaths has led to them becoming overgrown and difficult to use. “I could go days without seeing another person, and the number of times I came across barbed wire fences and being chased by cows..! I got so bruised, torn and scratched from brambles,” said Suzy.
“One farmer said in 14 years he had been farming I was only the second person he’d seen on the footpath.”
Ironically, with her dad being a footpath checker in his home village of Little Hallingbury, Suzy said that’s exactly what every village needs.
Being able to refer to Geoff’s diary detailing the route he took with his friend Chris Wright helped, and it also meant Suzy could feel close to her dad, who died after succumbing to dementia in February 2024, aged 85.
“I felt he was there with me,” she told the Indie a day after returning from a much-needed break to Lake Garda in Italy, following completion of the trek on June 19.
The 81 days she spent on the walk meant she could witness the changing of the seasons from spring to summer and that sparked happy memories.
“Gradually things started to come to life and the scents and smells really brought me back to my childhood,” said Suzy.
She took video footage along the way and spent the time talking about her memories of her dad.
The challenge of walking around 15 miles a day was made all the more easy by the people she met, who she says restored her faith in humanity.
Many of the owners of the B&Bs she used for pitstops ensured Suzy would always be fed and watered. One B&B owner on the John o’ Groats Trail, on realising Suzy would not get a table at the local pub for dinner, rushed down to bring her back a takeaway.
As her feet began to suffer – towards the end she had only two toenails remaining – an unusual cure for the soreness was produced by one woman.
“I had a lovely cure from a lady – pure sheep’s wool,” said Suzy. “I wrapped it around my infected toes and after two days they were totally healed up.”
On getting to the border of England and Scotland, Suzy was in for a shock. “When I crossed into Gretna Green I realised Scotland is so huge,” she said. “I realised I was only halfway.”
But meeting her family and friends for a trek together up Ben Nevis was an incentive to carry on. Her son Jack, 27, and daughter Lily, 23, climbed the mountain with Suzy along with her sister Wendy, niece Sam and nephew Dan.
She had three weeks when she was joined by family and friends, but she said spending most of the walk alone was “how it was meant to be”.
Besides completing LEJOG, Suzy hit her fundraising target, topping £10,000 for Dementia UK, with another £1,000 coming from her former company. That was important to Suzy as Geoff’s memory had begun to fade in his late 70s and he was ultimately diagnosed with dementia.
Despite friends and family marvelling at Suzy’s feat, she was keen to play it down. “I feel what I’ve done is nothing special – anyone can do it if they have the time.
”It’s not easy though, and it is an accomplishment, but I was blessed with incredibly good weather which certainly helped ease me into it.”
And her emotions on finishing were a surprise to some.
“There was a feeling of elation, but at the same time I was really sad it had finished – I wanted to turn round and walk back!”
