“I wanted to one day be able to show my grandchildren the videos of my charity walks and explain to them that if a stupid kid from the north of England could make a difference, anyone can.”
Meet 22-year-old Henry Moore, an unemployed supermarket worker from the north of England who, up until a few months ago, nobody had heard of. But now 66 days and 1600km later, this young man is the toast of the media after raising over €150,000 for charity by walking from the UK to Ibiza. Solo.
It was during another bleak British winter when images of Ibiza flashed onto his television screen, an island at the top of his wish list but way beyond his financial means. “I’d had the idea of a charity walk to Ibiza for a few years, but the idea needed a spark. And then I saw Wayne Lineker (entrepreneur) in the newspaper and a plan came together.”
Henry was to make the arduous trek through England, France and Spain finishing his marathon pilgrimage at Linekers Bar in San Antonio. He chose the Tony Hudgell Foundation as his charity of choice, founded by the 7-year-old double amputee who has captured hearts for his bravery by raising money to enhance the lives of children who have been affected by physical, emotional or psychological abuse.
“I am incredibly proud to be involved with Henry’s walk” admits Wayne. “He has held himself so well throughout the whole experience and was insistent from day one that we get the right charity, which of course we did.”
Henry documented his walk daily via his Instagram page – a brilliant diary of its high and low points. “The hardest thing was motivation with a lot of lonely hours on my own,” he says. “Sure, there were dangerous moments like in the Pyrenees when I was walking on cliff edges and hard parts when I struggled to find drinking water, but the most difficult part was keeping my brain focused and my spirits up. Of course, there were tears when I felt completely alone walking mile after mile in the dark, but the thought of raising all that money got me through.”
Walking an average of 39km every day and only needing two pairs of walking boots, Henry walked up the San Antonio promenade on June 16th accompanied by Wayne and Tony Hudgell himself.
“Some people do not understand how far it is to walk from Manchester to Ibiza” smiles Lineker. “But our boy didn’t talk the talk, he walked the walk.” Henry has already completed his second challenge of the summer – walking from Manchester to Berlin for the UEFA Euro 2024 Final.
Check out Henry’s next charity walk
here @henryoscarmoores.