Sami and I are finally doing the decent thing and are getting married on 5th May this year (currently that's just a smidge under three weeks time - gulp!!!) We've been together for over four years now, Sami has always maintained it was "inevitable" and that I could only run so far (!) but in the end I gladly proposed and six months later we are officially about to become Mr & Mrs Gibson. So UKB has it's first marriage...Happy Days!!!
Anyway -
our thoughts soon turned to Honeymoon Plans (and Sami had LOTS, believe me...) We both wanted to "do something" that was close to our hearts, something original and something with a purpose. Everyday beachbums we ain't!
In 2010 we spent a goodly part of the summer months zipping up and down the country in search of EVERY British butterfly (including ALL the races!) We fared pretty well, Clouded Yellow had an appalling showing that year and we missed seeing any. Mountain Ringlet also eluded us, being the only UK resident species we've yet to see. We managed the all rest though (apart from Large Tortoiseshell which seems to be resident on IOW - but we didn't know about them at the time). We had an absolutely amazing adventure, enjoyed some truly beautiful countryside and witnessed many spectacular wildlife moments. But it was also blatantly clear that some of the sites we visited were under threat of being lost, whether through local development plans or simply through being poorly managed/mismanaged due to either a lack of funding or a lack of understanding of species' requirements .
Other sites we visited simply no longer existed. And neither did all those special butterflies and habitats we'd hoped to see.
With this in mind we quickly hatched a bold (and somewhat unusual) Honeymoon Plan. We decided that for our Honeymoon we would undertake a shared childhood dream and walk the entire length of the country - from Land's End in westernmost Cornwall all the way northwards to John O'Groats at the very top of Scotland. Some 900 miles as the Holly Blue flits. No wholly sane person would ordinarily dream of walking such a huge distance, but only a truly insane person would do it without raising money or awareness for a charity or trust. Luckily we are both "not entirely sane"
and our chosen charity is none other than Butterfly Conservation, the very organisation in a position to help protect and conserve our declining butterfly populations and their dwindling habitats. No other charity is closer to our hearts at this time. We passionately believe that what we are doing is for a good and deserving cause. As Pete has already mentioned, as well as raising money for Butterfly Conservation, we would very much like to meet you guys as we walk (or should that be hobble?) northwards, put some faces to usernames. Maybe you'd even like to join us for a leg of the journey??? We are going totally unsupported, which is to say that we are undertaking the entire distance on foot (no bikes, boats or cars allowed!), we are carrying our tent, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, clothing etc etc in our rucksacks and intend to wildcamp as often as possible. So saying, the offer of a bath and bed wouldn't go amiss if our route passes your front door. And we'd pay for the beers, obviously!!!
Our route is shown on Pete's link on the homepage. It should be noted that this is a rough version of the actual route we intend to take, although it is fairly accurate. The actual roads, footpaths, tracks and towpaths we decide to use will doubtless change and evolve on a near-daily basis, there is no "right" way to do this (but probably lots of "wrong" ways!)
Regards raising money for Butterfly Conservation, we have a couple of simple ways in which people can donate. Both are safe, secure and trusted.
Firstly, we have a JustGiving page whereby you donate a sum of money online and JustGiving transfer the money direct into Butterfly Conservation's bank account. Truly simple and effective. To visit and donate go to http://www.justgiving.com/epicbutterflywalk
Alternatively, if you don't have access to the internet, you can donate using your mobile phone. Again - it's very quick and easy. First text WALK80 (all one word and in UPPER CASE) followed by a space, then £3 to donate £3, or £5 to donate £5, £10 to donate £10 or £20 to donate £20. For example, to donate £5 you would simply text WALK80 £5 Then send that off to 70070. And you can do this up to three times a day! The money comes out of your phone's credit if you are Pay-as-you-Go, or is added to your monthly bill if you are on contract. Either way, you don't have to give out your bank card details.
Finally, Sami has spent quite some time putting together a short video. Personally I HATE the soundtrack, but I've watched it now so I won't have to suffer it again!!!
Please watch it at http://youtu.be/OfmDc6llHj8 There are donation details near the end of the video. Maybe keep the volume setting on "low"?
I realise that I'm preaching to the converted, which is why I'm asking you now to help spread the news of our Epic Butterfly Walk to friends, family, colleagues, your local natural history groups, absolutely anyone you think may be willing to donate and willing to spread the word. Please share the JustGiving page on your Facebook or Twitter accounts. Befriend our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Epic-Butt ... 6055676456 and better still, come out and meet us as we pass through your neck of the woods!!!
Maybe you could help carry our packs? (doh, that's not allowed is it 
)Right, that's quite enough chatter for now. Go spread the word, give us your money and all offers of a hot shower en route greatly appreciated!
Seth Gibson and Sami (soon to be Gibson) Webster
aka Sami and Gibster.
