On Thursday 15th May, Joe Wilkins (CBMWC volunteer) and Maddy De Marchis (WTSWW Trustee and CBMWC volunteer) set off to hike 60 miles in 60 hours along the Ceredigion Coast Path, in aid of marine conservation.

The pair were doing this to support the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre and British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), so far raising £1200 in total for the two charities.

They set off from Cardigan, at 6am on Thursday 15th, with many miles lying ahead. With one hour to spare and very tired legs, at 5pm on Saturday 17th they made it to their finish line - the sand dunes of Ynyslas.

Joe said, 'We were incredibly lucky with the weather – when planning the challenge, I expected us to have a downpour at some point in classic West Wales style, but in reality, one of our biggest challenges was keeping protected from the glorious sun which shone all three days!'

The challenge was not easy - with varied and difficult terrain along most of the route, and a total elevation gain of almost 3000m.

Reflecting on the challenge, Maddy said: 'We've walked over it all: steep climbs, rocky beaches, dramatic cliffs, sand dunes, farmland, rivers, sharp descents – it really hit home how beautiful and diverse Ceredigion’s coastal landscapes are!'

'A highlight for me was the range of wildlife we saw during the walk, beautiful seabirds like fulmars and gannets, colourful coastal wildflowers, grey seals, whimbrel and other wading birds, butterflies, and of course our favourites, bottlenose dolphins!’

Joe, an ecologist and nature campaigner from Aberystwyth said, ‘Having grown up on the coast of Cardigan Bay, this coastline and its incredible wildlife have always had a special place in my heart, so I’m really excited to be doing something to help play my part in its protection. Both CBMWC and BDMLR carry out critical work and are organisations we are closely involved with, so it was very important for us to do something to support them.’ 

The pair more than doubled their fundraising target of £500, raising a total of £1200! This will be divided equally between Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre and British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

A massive well-done to Maddy and Joe for their fantastic efforts! Their fundraiser is still open for donations and if you would like to support them please donate to their GiveWheel page here.

If you would like to take on a challenge of your own to raise money for protecting wildlife in South and West Wales then please click here for more information or contact our Fundraising Officer Molly, at m.johns@welshwildlife.org.