Firefighter Emily Jane Harding is preparing for an epic challenge this summer.
To mark a milestone birthday, Emily will be pulling on her hiking boots to ramble along the 630-mile Southwest Coastal path.
This momentous challenge is set to begin on the 30 June in Minehead, Somerset and finish at South Haven Point in Dorset on around about the 7 September.
Who is Emily?
Emily has been an On-Call firefighter at Wellington Station for nearly four years:
“I really enjoy it and have a fantastic and supportive crew who are all backing me with this challenge. Also working for the Ministry of Defence.
“It can be difficult juggling both jobs as well as my hobbies and interests. I think the contrast between my office job at the Ministry of Defence and a more active job with the fire service keeps me going, I feel incredibly lucky that my MoD colleagues are very supportive of my on-call role and interested in what we’ve have been up to.”
As well as hiking, Emily loves climbing especially indoor bouldering but is hoping to climb outdoors more this year. She has two dogs Summer and Charlie who love to join Emily on her hikes and wild camping adventures.
Little bit of Southwest Coast path information
The Southwest Coast path is the UK’s longest National Trail, it passes through four different counties (Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Dorset) and the total elevation for the whole of the path is the same as hiking Mt Everest four times!
For any other keen hikers more information about the path can be found on the Southwest Coast Path association website here.
Why this challenge?
“I’m a keen hiker, I like to do a bit of running, I’m always up for a crazy challenge and tend to go away each year on my birthday, to do an interesting challenge. Whilst I was doing the Cumbria Way last year, it got me thinking about what challenge I would like to do next year”.
Emily is celebrating her 30th birthday this year and wanted a challenge that would be memorable -
“I wanted to do something BIG and the Southwest Coast Path popped into my head”.
Having done bits of the path before Emily says -
“Minehead is an incredibly special place for me, I have many fond memories from numerous family holidays, so it seemed like the perfect challenge”.
Emily has never done a challenge as big as this one before but has plenty of experience; having completed the Shropshire Way in 2020 and the Telford50 in 2023, hiking the full 50 miles in just over 16.5 hours. The most recent challenge was the mountain version of the Cumbria Way, a 70-mile hike from Ulverston to Carlisle. This was a solo challenge which included wild camping and carrying all her own equipment.
Fundraising Opportunity
Originally, Emily was going to do the hike as a personal challenge, however, after talking with others about her plans it seemed like a waste to not take the opportunity to do some good. Emily has, therefore, decided to raise money and support the following charities:
1. The Firefighter’s Charity;
2. A charity linked to defence / armed forces (Emily works for the Ministry of Defence and they have allowed her to take the time off work to complete the challenge);
3. The Southwest Coast Path Association, Emily explains why:
“I think it’s important to give back to the path to support the upkeep and allow others to continue to enjoy it”.
Local Fire Station Support
Emily has done plenty of research and has noted that there are many fire stations enroute, so she is hoping to reach out to the local stations / fire services in the hope of gaining support and possible shelter.
Good luck Emily!
All at Shropshire Fire and Rescue, I am sure, will want to support and wish Emily good luck with her epic challenge. If you would like to support, please give generously using the following link: https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/6269/em-js-south-west-coast-path-c...
