Billy Taylor and the Honeypot Bus

Jane Cable greets a jubilant Billy Taylor on his arrival at The Rose Bowl

Just before 4 o’clock on Friday 3rd October a tired but jubilant Billy Taylor arrived at the East Gate of The Rose Bowl to complete his sponsored walk in aid of local charity, Honeypot, which he had started four days earlier at the County Ground in Hove. He was greeted by the Honeypot bus and a group of well-wishers including children from the charity, who made sure his return to The Rose Bowl was a noisy one.

Although the walk had been a great success, surely some parts had been tougher than others? “For me, the worst bit was probably the last five or six miles of the third day – it just seemed to be never ending” Billy told me. “The route started to go downhill, which surprisingly was more uncomfortable. 26 miles is a long, long way in one day; it’s unbelievable how people can run that distance in marathons! The walk was from Chichester to Whiteley so a lot of it was over Portsdown Hill, which was very scenic, but very blowy. I had the wind against me and the feet hurt a bit, but I knew I had to get to a certain place at a certain time, and I was quite excited because I was going on the couch at Meridian TV as well.”

One of Billy’s objectives for the walk had been to raise the profile of Honeypot as much as possible. “Meridian have been fantastic – I’ve been on there every day throughout the week, plus build-ups and stuff. They’ve been absolutely awesome and a vital part of what I’ve achieved. “

The other objective was of course to raise money for Honeypot, and although the cash donated en route from the various events had not all been counted, Billy thought the total was about £8,500 “That’s really exciting, but it would be nice if it could notch up closer to the £10,000 target. The money raised so far has got eight children a year’s care, which is awesome.”

It isn’t too late to contribute to this excellent cause by visiting Billy’s Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/billytaylor1 .  Honeypot works with some of Hampshire and Sussex’s most vulnerable children, those who have no-one to care for them or who are carers themselves.  To find out more about their work visit www.honeypot.co.uk.

Read Jane Cable's preview article with Billy Taylor before he set off for his charity walk

Jubilant Billy Taylor on his arrival at The Rose Bowl

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