An epic trip to the Sahara Desert

In late March a group of 14 intrepid fundraisers headed out to trek across the Sahara Desert in aid of Prospect Hospice. The fundraisers included four members of Team Link led by editor Jamie Hill. The team had held fundraising events, including a meal, quizzes and a gig night at supporting venues such as The Pick Up Point, The Tuppenny, and Level III. In his own words Jamie Hill describes the adventure.

So I’m back.

Cat on my lap.

But I miss the camels.

Although a camel curled up on my lap might not work.

Back in the cold light of the UK, it’s definitely a lot to process.

There were 14 of us who went out to The Sahara to raise money for Prospect Hospice.

Each of us raised thousands for the cause. I personally raised £3,334. Team Link, the team I had assembled, which was made up of four of us also included Kieran McCarthy, Laura Johnson and Amy O’Reilly, and raised £11,910 in total.

Overall, according to Prospect, the trek actually put £29,000 into the charity’s coffers after costs, which is a massive achievement.

Prospect is a fantastic organisation. They are there providing palliative care for our family members and our friends. Giving people the dignity and respect they need in their last days as well as providing support and care for family members during very difficult times.

We still can’t thank everyone enough who helped us raise such a huge amount of money for such a worthy cause.

The trek had taken us out to Morocco, via Marrakesh, basically dumping us by way of minibus in the middle of the Sahara Desert with some camels accompanied by a group of Berber tribesmen.

Our days in the desert were definitely hard going. And the biggest nemesis for the 14 of us was the heat. That sun is a bastard at times. There were at least two times where it became too much for me and I was forced to sit in the shade drinking gallons of water until I cooled down again.

It actually did become too much at one point for two of our group during the trek and the camels had to be called in like some kind of Saharan Uber to our next meeting point. But after a good break and through sheer willpower they managed to carry on.

One of my biggest enemies was my flexibility. At the age of 48, and 6ft 2ins, I won’t be winning any gymnastics competitions soon. Getting my legs comfortable was a losing battle and one that was brought sharply into focus.

Whether it was getting in and out of a tent (I had to do it very inelegantly - kind of like a drunken crab) to just sitting cross-legged in a tent, I just couldn’t do it.

I won’t mention the squatting. There was a toilet tent which was essentially a hole in the ground and something that I found impossible to use without bringing the whole thing down on top of me.

But apart from that my legs were pretty damn good especially when it came to the walking.

And the walking was hard. Mile after mile of blistering hot desert. But my legs surpisingly held up.

For the final couple of days our trek took us to The Atlas Mountains, swapping the dunes for snow-capped peaks. Although this meant some very steep inclines, it was decidedly cooler with some of the best views you are ever likely to see.

Each of us is trying to get our heads around the trek - it definitely was an achievement, full of beautiful and