A woman walks 8,046 km(!) from Ukraine to Wales
A woman from Wales has walked a whopping 8,046 kilometres. Ursula Martin departed from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv three years ago and arrived last weekend in Llanidloes, in the Welsh county of Powys. With the walking tour, Ursula wanted to draw attention to cancer, a disease that was diagnosed in women ten years ago.
When Ursula was diagnosed with cancer ten years ago, she had just sailed down the Danube, which runs from Germany to Romania. Her original plan was to hike back to the UK from Bulgaria, but her illness prevented Ursula from making such an arduous journey. “Instead, I went on a 5,632-kilometre hike through Wales,” the woman said.
After her treatment, it was time for the real work: Ursula did not want to plan to walk through Europe and leave Kyiv three years ago. However, the journey was not without difficulties, as the corona pandemic suddenly reared its head. “Suddenly, everyone had to go home and stay indoors, but I had no home because I was abroad.” Ursula appealed to friends and family to always find a place to sleep.
“I walked as far as I could and had to stop every time I arrived in a country that was in lockdown. It was really a cat-and-mouse game,” she said. “Without the pandemic, I could have completed the walking tour in December,” she emphasizes.
Not the last trip
Although Ursula arrived back in Wales later than planned, she still managed to complete the walk in full despite all the challenges. Ursula was therefore very warmly received in her home country of Wales.
For the avid hiker, it will not be the last time she will go on a hike. In January, Ursula is already planning another hike from John o’Groats in the north of Scotland to Land’s End, the westernmost point of Cornwall, England. With this, the woman, who is now cancer-free, wants to highlight the tenth anniversary of her cancer diagnosis.
