Dove Step
Dove Step is an unrivalled conservation project - raising funds for Operation Turtle Dove through endurance efforts.
To date we have raised over £21k and endured over 2000 miles across 5 journeys and just 59 'Dove Step days’!
The first journey was truly epic, ill prepared, out of shape and inexperienced; we crashed into the world of pure endurance with over 300 miles covered on foot in just 14 days. Connecting RSPB Lakenheath with the RSPB Salthome Reserve. A continuous march from Suffolk, up the East coast coast, to the North East with the blisters, chaffing and true grit to show for it.
Having walked and talked for 300 miles, camping, eating and sleeping together for two weeks, we had plenty of time to dream, plan and devise a further journey. That journey was Dove Step 2 - our take on a triathlon connecting the Suffolk Coast with Spain.
Between 05th February and 04th March 2017 I walked Spain - in its entirety - from South to North starting in Andalusia and concluding is Asturias 28 days and 704.5 miles later. An undiluted demonstration of Dove Step. The cumulation of the prior 3 years training and execution with some of the best individuals to walk this planet earth.
The sheer landscape level, whole country, endeavour of walking over 700 miles in 28 days takes a uniquely brutal toll on the body. I would be out from dawn to late afternoon or evening, dark depending on the daily distance. I experienced every variation of temperature and weather in covering the whole country, lowland and mountain ranges cumulating in the mighty Picos de Europa.
That said, after an amount of recovery, we ventured once more into the breach in 2019. Reduced to a domestic effort, we devised Dove Step 3.1. I am a son of the northern darkness and saw my first Turtle Doves at Hurworth Burn, almost 30 years ago! As such, the northernmost population of Turtle Doves is important - both in UK breeding population terms and personally. Those birds holding on in North Yorkshire are key to maintaining a healthy range in England. To this end, we conjoined attendance at the Spurn Migfest with a 163 mile cycle to get there - followed up with a marathon. I was joined by team mate Nick for the cycle leg, which was followed up by the marathon the next morning. In terms of athletic output, this was definitely the Dove Step peak! Crucially, our efforts raised sufficient funds to directly support the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project. With funds deployed via wild flower plots for seed food, pond management and scrub planting for nest sites. This Dove Step 3.1 effort also gave rise to one of the iconic photos of Dove Step - the Kilnsea fist bump!
Nick Moran (Dove Step 3.1 team member) was also in rehab mode, with lingering post-viral - long Covid symptoms holding him back. However, he still tackled the Round Norfolk Epic; a 200-mile cycle ride around the Norfolk county boundary – 40 miles further than the longest cycling day of any Dove Step prior!
Running 50 miles in a day, a year out from the car crash, was a daunting task, compounded by the further milage the next day. Waking up in Manningtree on the morning of Friday 18th June was a damp affair, I was gifted an hour or so running before the downpours started again. With the preceding spell of warm weather, path-side vegetation had bloomed, then bowed over under the weight of the rain water. At times hiding the route and veiling safe footings. It also served to drench any and all areas not already drenched by rain.
Once you leave the valley bottom of the Stour and move cross country, the terrain becomes surprisingly punchy; with 2267ft of elevation across the 50 miles from Manningtree to Bury St Edmunds. Surprising for the otherwise rolling countryside of Suffolk. A strategic sit-down lunch and change into dry clothes at the Mill Hotel Sudbury was most welcome. Long time Dove Step team mate Malcolm Fairley has the dubious honour of my company after 30 miles of running and then transporting filthy kit back home to Bury St Edmunds! Still, without the kit change and rest bite - the remaining milage would have been unbearable. There is a unique level of attrition that builds up when you spend hours in soaking kit; a nappy rash style glow enveloped by midriff and tiger-stripes of chaffing lacerated places that are not pleasant to lacerate! The vegetation along the route nettled, brambled and irritated my legs with grass seeds and the constant contact. The cumulative stings and abrasion meant I hardly slept over night as my legs throbbed and itched.
On minimal sleep I was amazed to be able to run the next morning; well for the first 7 or so miles, then off-and-on till around mile 18 and arrival in Thetford. Pleased with progress, I then walked in the remaining 10 miles between the BTO headquarters and Brandon - the finish line - along the Little Ouse river.
It was an honour to be joined by RSPB and Operation Turtle Dove staff for the last leg of the two days endurance and the finish line cake was also something to behold!
So, in June 2021 we righted the wrongs of 2020, dropping more miles and funds for Operation Turtle Dove and specifically the North Yorks Turtle Dove Project. We also hit our fund-raising target of £21k raised in 2021, the ambition was previously to hit £20k in the year 2020, like so many things this was a Covid casualty. Without high profile coverage, the ‘Captain Tom Moore’ effect, or billionaire donors the funds we’ve attracted have solely come from friends, family and the bird watching community to which we belong. We are eternally grateful to everyone who has donated both over the years and this year.
To date Dove Step has supported habitat creation in the Eastern Region, research on the wintering grounds and more habitat creation in the North Yorkshire National Park. We are proud to have raised £21k raised in the year 2021. At this time it is not clear if we will ever Dove Step again. If we do, it remains to be seen where and when. So…
This was our proving ground and we realised we were capable of much, much more than we previously understood. Walking up the entrance track to the Salthome reserve, friends and family there to greet us was also one of, if not the, proudest moment of my life.
Training through the winter of 2014 - 2015 we mastered the previously unknown arts of road cycling and sea kayaking. Sea kayaking is particularly dangerous, although I didn't realise that at the time! Capsizes, near drowning and hypothermia taught us that soon enough. The time of year gifted us winter cycle training on the roads and lanes of Suffolk and Northumbria. Sound proving grounds for any budding cyclist.
When launch day came, I immediately capsized, team mate Gooders was seasick for the whole of the first day at sea, I would occasionally paddle over and splash him with sea water to remove the accumulated vomit down his front. Stu capsized and lost much of his food and water ration for the day, luckily we had drilled recoveries and got him back afloat quickly. The two days at sea and covering over-channel distance were life affirming and banked our winter training.
The next leg of our triathlon was cycling, from Calais to Bordeaux, we capably completed the 570 miles of cycling in just 6 days, not bad for a lad who made his lycra-clad, road bike debut just six months prior!
I understand that a 100 miler is considered respectable in cycling circles, we did several 100 mile days and back-to-back. As rank novices. Indeed, we did two days over the 110 mile mark and our 'smallest day 'was still 78 miles. No one does it like Dove Step!
The winter training at sea and in the saddle did nothing for our walking endurance and the 140 miles and 6 days spent walking were pure brutality, in my case, on an already broken body - following the 2 days at sea and 6 days on the bike.
Still, we had announced a 700 mile triathlon and that is exactly what we would deliver. The very first day leaving Bordeaux was a body-shock, leaving the relative comfort of cycling behind and forcing the leg muscles to swap to walking. This was a huge ask physically and Stu was unable to continue, despite having so capably completed the first two legs of our triathlon. It was crushing to have to say goodbye to a team mate. My cycling shoes had abraded by little toes and upon commencing walking, the 'raw spot' was exploited by my walking boots. This resulted in me loosing the entire top of that toe - nail and all! They have subsequently grown back. But it was an unrivalled, grating pain at the time and across marathon distance walking days.
In terms of unadulterated brutality and sheer grit, no single part of the Dove Step epic had rivalled the walking leg of Dove Step 2 in terms of sheer suffering. It was unbelievable. I am eternally grateful to my long-term team mate Rob for his company and support. Together we made it to Bayonne, with the Pyrenees and Spanish border in front of us and the Atlantic to our right-hand side. 140 miles added to the previous kayak and cycle miles - made for a 730 mile - 13 day output. All for Turtle Doves and Operation Turtle Dove.
Following the successof Dove Step 1 in 2014 and Dove Step 2 in 2015 we utilised 2016 as a 'gap year' to decompress, heal and go 'ultra'. I ran my first back-to-back marathons, running a marathon on both the Saturday and Sunday in one weekend in June, then going 'ultra' distance - running 50km (31 miles) in November. This running output, coupled with hiking steadied me for the third Dove Step effort in 2017. Dove Step 3...
The sheer emotion of completing the first Dove Step, 300 miles in the UK, is only matched by the third journey. This was the purest and to my mind the pinnacle of Dove Step journeys. A non-stop 700 mile march - connecting Tarifa beach, the southern tip of Spain, with Gijon on the north coast.
Between 05th February and 04th March 2017 I walked Spain - in its entirety - from South to North starting in Andalusia and concluding is Asturias 28 days and 704.5 miles later. An undiluted demonstration of Dove Step. The cumulation of the prior 3 years training and execution with some of the best individuals to walk this planet earth.
By this point we had funded the creation of 9 hectares of habitat creation in the east of England, much needed research on the African wintering grounds in Senegal, supplementary feeding and further research into the best feeding habit in England. Our endurance was directly translating into tangible, delivered and demonstrable benefit for our migratory and farmland birds. Issues of conservation, extinction and migratory species in free-fall decline can be overwhelming. Focussing on just the one species, Turtle Dove, allowed me to rationalise the enormity of all these issues.
The sheer landscape level, whole country, endeavour of walking over 700 miles in 28 days takes a uniquely brutal toll on the body. I would be out from dawn to late afternoon or evening, dark depending on the daily distance. I experienced every variation of temperature and weather in covering the whole country, lowland and mountain ranges cumulating in the mighty Picos de Europa.
Road closures meant that as soon as the fifth day I had to complete a daily milage of 35 miles! 35 miles on the back of 28 miles the day before and over twelve hours non-stop walking. River crossings, torrential rain, hypothermia and exertion induced hallucinations were par for the course.
Day 25 of the march included 1317 of ascent - before even considering descent - over a 25 mile walk as we made it through snow covered passes in the Picos. This, on the back of covering at least 25 miles for the preceding 24 days straight!
I do not consider we will better Dove Step 3 - but we are all born to lose and we have to live to win.
That said, after an amount of recovery, we ventured once more into the breach in 2019. Reduced to a domestic effort, we devised Dove Step 3.1. I am a son of the northern darkness and saw my first Turtle Doves at Hurworth Burn, almost 30 years ago! As such, the northernmost population of Turtle Doves is important - both in UK breeding population terms and personally. Those birds holding on in North Yorkshire are key to maintaining a healthy range in England. To this end, we conjoined attendance at the Spurn Migfest with a 163 mile cycle to get there - followed up with a marathon. I was joined by team mate Nick for the cycle leg, which was followed up by the marathon the next morning. In terms of athletic output, this was definitely the Dove Step peak! Crucially, our efforts raised sufficient funds to directly support the North Yorkshire Turtle Dove Project. With funds deployed via wild flower plots for seed food, pond management and scrub planting for nest sites. This Dove Step 3.1 effort also gave rise to one of the iconic photos of Dove Step - the Kilnsea fist bump!
Getting hit by a car, on the back of Covid restrictions made 2020 a catastrophic year in Dove Step terms.
The furthest I have walked in a day before is 50 miles and the furthest I have run in a day is thirty odd miles. The St Edmunds Way long distance footpath runs past my door and connects Manningtree with Brandon, spanning much of Suffolk. It offers a perfect opportunity to drop a 50/50 output. 50 miles on day one and around 50km on day two. We called this latest effort ‘Dove Step Rehab’.
The furthest I have walked in a day before is 50 miles and the furthest I have run in a day is thirty odd miles. The St Edmunds Way long distance footpath runs past my door and connects Manningtree with Brandon, spanning much of Suffolk. It offers a perfect opportunity to drop a 50/50 output. 50 miles on day one and around 50km on day two. We called this latest effort ‘Dove Step Rehab’.
Nick Moran (Dove Step 3.1 team member) was also in rehab mode, with lingering post-viral - long Covid symptoms holding him back. However, he still tackled the Round Norfolk Epic; a 200-mile cycle ride around the Norfolk county boundary – 40 miles further than the longest cycling day of any Dove Step prior!
Running 50 miles in a day, a year out from the car crash, was a daunting task, compounded by the further milage the next day. Waking up in Manningtree on the morning of Friday 18th June was a damp affair, I was gifted an hour or so running before the downpours started again. With the preceding spell of warm weather, path-side vegetation had bloomed, then bowed over under the weight of the rain water. At times hiding the route and veiling safe footings. It also served to drench any and all areas not already drenched by rain.
Once you leave the valley bottom of the Stour and move cross country, the terrain becomes surprisingly punchy; with 2267ft of elevation across the 50 miles from Manningtree to Bury St Edmunds. Surprising for the otherwise rolling countryside of Suffolk. A strategic sit-down lunch and change into dry clothes at the Mill Hotel Sudbury was most welcome. Long time Dove Step team mate Malcolm Fairley has the dubious honour of my company after 30 miles of running and then transporting filthy kit back home to Bury St Edmunds! Still, without the kit change and rest bite - the remaining milage would have been unbearable. There is a unique level of attrition that builds up when you spend hours in soaking kit; a nappy rash style glow enveloped by midriff and tiger-stripes of chaffing lacerated places that are not pleasant to lacerate! The vegetation along the route nettled, brambled and irritated my legs with grass seeds and the constant contact. The cumulative stings and abrasion meant I hardly slept over night as my legs throbbed and itched.
On minimal sleep I was amazed to be able to run the next morning; well for the first 7 or so miles, then off-and-on till around mile 18 and arrival in Thetford. Pleased with progress, I then walked in the remaining 10 miles between the BTO headquarters and Brandon - the finish line - along the Little Ouse river.
It was an honour to be joined by RSPB and Operation Turtle Dove staff for the last leg of the two days endurance and the finish line cake was also something to behold!
So, in June 2021 we righted the wrongs of 2020, dropping more miles and funds for Operation Turtle Dove and specifically the North Yorks Turtle Dove Project. We also hit our fund-raising target of £21k raised in 2021, the ambition was previously to hit £20k in the year 2020, like so many things this was a Covid casualty. Without high profile coverage, the ‘Captain Tom Moore’ effect, or billionaire donors the funds we’ve attracted have solely come from friends, family and the bird watching community to which we belong. We are eternally grateful to everyone who has donated both over the years and this year.
To date Dove Step has supported habitat creation in the Eastern Region, research on the wintering grounds and more habitat creation in the North Yorkshire National Park. We are proud to have raised £21k raised in the year 2021. At this time it is not clear if we will ever Dove Step again. If we do, it remains to be seen where and when. So…
£21k and endured over 2000 miles endured - please don't forget Turtle Doves and please don't forget Dove Step
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