STUDENT NEWS

Psychology student Hugo Metcalfe plans to walk the 4,000-mile length of the Great Wall of China

Psychology Student Set For Record Solo Challenge

Student to walk Great Wall of China for Diabetes UK

A Psychology student from Leicester is aiming to become the first solo Briton to complete the 4,000 mile trek of the Great Wall of China.

Hugo Metcalfe was inspired to take the challenge after his father was diagnosed with diabetes. He now plans to raise £2000 for Diabetes UK.

Hugo has already walked part of the wall during a trip crossing the Himalayas overland from China into Pakistan. He has also been building up his stamina by walking between Nottingham and Leicester.

Hugo is allowing about six months for the walk and is calling on people to sponsor him either directly by calling 07810 651183 or via his webpage www.thegreatwanderer.co.uk.

He said: "I fly into Beijing in at the beginning of august this year, from there I will make my way west to my starting point at the Jiayuguan Pass. After strolling 4000 miles east, up and down the odd mountain or two and in temperatures ranging between -10C and +40C I will reach my final stop at the Shanhaiguan pass where the wall juts out into the sea.

"The real challenges are going to be maintaining my body weight and getting enough water while I’m out there, and remaining sane. There are a number of towns I have mapped out along the way where I will be able to re-fuel, but some stretches are going to be pretty barren. I going to be spending 6 months more or less on my own, keeping my mind occupied is going to be a major task.

"I am currently learning Mandarin so hopefully will be able to hold a conversation with another person when I see one. However I am learning Pǔtōnghuà, which is the Beijing dialect, and I can't be sure that I will be understood in the rural villages dotted along the wall.

"I am most looking forward to seeing parts of China the people rarely see, I want to see how the locals live. When you visit a big city like Beijing or Shanghai, you forget that the majority of the people in the country live a completely different way of life."

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