London to Plymouth (via Bristol)
2nd October – 1st November 2010
2nd October – 1st November 2010
On Saturday 2nd October (International Day of Nonviolence) I propose to embark on a 30-day walk for a nuclear-free future from London to Plymouth, via Bristol (England). This will link in with the DEVONPORT BIG BLOCKADE in Plymouth on Monday 1st November, organised by Trident Ploughshares and supported by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Trident Ploughshares website:
http://www.tridentploughshares.org
Trident Ploughshares website:
http://www.tridentploughshares.org
CND briefing about Devonport:
http://www.cnduk.org/images/stories/briefings/trident/devonport09.pdf
...and the ongoing campaigns against proposed new nuclear reactors at HINKLEY POINT in Somerset, and elsewhere
Stop Hinkley website:
http://www.stophinkley.org
Stop Nuclear Power Network website:
http://stopnuclearpoweruk.net
...and the £3 million-a-DAY being spent upgrading and maintaining the nuclear warhead facilities at the ATOMIC WEAPONS ESTABLISHMENT sites at Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire:
http://aldermaston.net
http://nuclearinfo.org
http://www.tridentploughshares.org
http://www.nuclearawarenessgroup.org.uk
The walk will be free of drugs and alcohol, to help focus the mind and in solidarity with indigenous communities around the world who have been devastated by the effects of these substances (alcohol is often brought in by multi-national corporations mining uranium and other resources on their land in order to disrupt community cohesion).
My intention is that this will be a ‘zero carbon’ walk in the sense that I will not be relying on fossil fuel (or nuclear power-based) transportation of either me or my equipment along the route of the walk. This means that I will probably have to carry my own gear and travel as lightly as possible. However, if others have ‘zero carbon’ forms of transport available, e.g. bicycle (with trailer perhaps), camel or ingenious renewably-powered contraption, they would be welcome to accompany me some or all of the way. Other walkers are also welcome to join me for some or all of the journey, provided they do not challenge my sanity unduly.
I plan to walk 10-15 miles per day most days, and to camp most nights, though offers of a bed / sofa / inch of floor space and showers along the way would be gratefully received.
I would be very pleased to participate in any relevant public meetings or demonstrations that fit in with my itinerary.
Donations towards the cost of this venture would be most welcome. Any money donated that is surplus to requirement will be shared equally between Chernobyl Children’s Project UK, Stop Nuclear Power Network and Trident Ploughshares. Please get in touch if you would like to make a donation.
If you are interested in taking part or supporting this walk in any way, please get in touch with me by e-mail (vd2012-walk [AT] yahoo.co.uk ) (note: I probably won't check this very often once the walk starts) or telephone (mob: 07506 234 091). A provisional itinerary can be found below.
Peace,
Dan Viesnik
Provisional itinerary (n.b. this may be subject to change):
Provisional itinerary (n.b. this may be subject to change):
| DATE | START | FINISH | NOTES |
| Sat 2 Oct | Battersea Peace Pagoda (LONDON) | Esher | International Day of Nonviolence |
| Sun 3 | Esher | Woking | |
| Mon 4 | Woking | Wokingham | |
| Tue 5 | Wokingham | AWE Aldermaston | Nuclear Bomb Factory |
| Wed 6 | AWE Aldermaston | Newbury | |
| Thu 7 | Newbury | Froxfield | |
| Fri 8 | Froxfield | Avebury | |
| Sat 9 | Avebury | Chippenham | |
| Sun 10 | Chippenham | Rest day / outreach? | |
| Mon 11 | Chippenham | Bath | |
| Tue 12 | Bath | BRISTOL | |
| Wed 13 | BRISTOL | Rest day / outreach? | |
| Thu 14 | BRISTOL | Clevedon | |
| Fri 15 | Clevedon | Weston-super-Mare | |
| Sat 16 | Weston-super-Mare | Burnham-on-Sea | |
| Sun 17 | Burnham-on-Sea | Bridgwater | |
| Mon 18 | Bridgwater | Hinkley Point | Nuclear Power Station |
| Tue 19 | Hinkley Point | Bridgwater | |
| Wed 20 | Bridgwater | Taunton | |
| Thu 21 | Taunton | Honiton | |
| Fri 22 | Honiton | EXETER | |
| Sat 23 | Stop Nuclear Power Network national gathering in Bristol | ||
| Sun 24 | Stop Nuclear Power Network national gathering in Bristol | ||
| Mon 25 | EXETER | Dawlish | |
| Tue 26 | Dawlish | Torquay | |
| Wed 27 | Torquay | Dartmouth | |
| Thu 28 | Dartmouth | Torcross | |
| Fri 29 | Torcross | Kingsbridge | |
| Sat 30 | Kingsbridge | Yealmpton | |
| Sun 31 | Yealmpton | PLYMOUTH | (clocks go back) |
| Mon 1 Nov | PLYMOUTH | Devonport Dockyard | Join Big Blockade (from 6am ) |
