An update before Team Link's trek across the Sahara Desert in aid of Prospect Hospice

Swindon Link's editor (and Team Link trekker) Jamie Hill pens a column before the Sahara expedition on 19 March.

I’m getting nervous now.

It seems an age ago that I signed up for this mammoth task back in January 2022.

And now after a frantic fundraising year, the month is finally here where I’m going to have to put my charity money where my mouth is and actually cross the Sahara Desert in aid of Prospect Hospice.

We leave for Morocco on Sunday 19 March and within 24 hours of our arrival we will be shoved into the desert and told to start walking before we’ve even had a chance to wipe the sand from our faces.

There’s about a dozen of us trekkers all doing it for Prospect Hospice.

But between the four members who made up Team Link, which are myself, Amy O’Reilly, Kieran McCarthy and Laura Johnson, we’ve managed to raise £10,717 towards Prospect Hospice.

It was a stressful year with a very busy autumn of fundraising events from quizzes and feasts to gig nights but miraculously we got there with the fundraising and we can’t thank all of those who donated enough.

We will be spending five days in the Sahara Desert trekking about 20-25 kilometres during a full day.

When we finally finish our desert leg, we will then be spending two days crossing The Atlas Mountains before finally coming back to Marrakesh.

Obviously I’ll be trying to update you all via the Link website but that all depends on signal, and I’ve got a feeling there might not be much reception in the middle of the desert. In fact my Trip Advisor review will probably read ‘Lovely golden dunes, the camels were fun even though they didn’t let us ride them, but shame about the wifi.’

I have been training for this. In fact some of you might have spotted me huffing and puffing around Old Town, but I don’t think there’s much I can do about acclimatising to a desert heat during the winter months in Swindon, so I’ve got a feeling that might be one thing that could see me become a sweat monster who is constantly dying of thirst.

But we are still fundraising as although we have raised our targets for Prospect Hospice any more donations will still be very welcome and much-needed by the Wroughton-based charity.

To donate please visit justgiving.com/team/linksahara

Right, I’m off to cross a desert.

Wish me luck!