Furniture retail professional walks coast to coast and raises £11k for Step 2 It

Furniture retail professional David Tracey has raised a phenomenal £11,000 for industry charity The Furniture Makers’ Company by trekking one of the UK’s longest hiking trails, the Coast to Coast, for the Step 2 It campaign.

The Coast to Coast walk is a 192-mile trailway that crosses the breadth of northern England, starting in St Bees, Cumbria and finishing at Robin Hoods Bay, North Yorkshire. Devised by fell walker Alfred Wainwright, the walk passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.

David started the challenge on Tuesday 7 September, and he completed it in 16 days, finishing on Wednesday 22 September. At the end of the trek, David had racked up a colossal 204 miles in distance with 25,300ft of elevation, which translated to 487,000 steps and 14 pounds of weight loss.

After setting off from St Bees, David spent the first five days walking through the Lake District, the most challenging part of the journey. The next leg of the challenge saw him cross over the Pennines at Nine Standards Rigg followed by traversing some boggy moorland. David was able to enjoy gentler landscape through the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Upper Swaledale, before stopping at Raven Seat Farm at the halfway point.

The Vale of Mowbray took two days to cross, affording some respite, before more challenging terrain again over the Cleveland Hills. The last three days took him across the North York Moors and onto his final destination at Robin Hoods Bay.

Completing the hike has been a long-held ambition of David’s and he decided to take on the challenge in 2021 as part of The Furniture Makers’ Company’s Step 2 It campaign, which has been inspiring individuals and companies in the sector to get active and raise funds for the charity.

David, who has worked in the furnishing industry for 40-plus years in senior and director level roles in companies including Dreams, Harveys, Hygena, MFI, Moores Furniture Group and Wesley Barrell, raised a total of £11,114 (including Gift Aid).

Commenting on the fundraiser, David said: “I’m so grateful to everyone who has sponsored me and donated to The Furniture Makers’ Company, a charity close to my heart. The support really did inspire me to get the job done, through some very challenging days – thank you all.

“It was a wonderful experience, and we met some great people along the way, both on the walk and at the small family businesses that hosted us, fed us and in some cases helped us with our essential intake of hop infused water. I could not have undertaken and completed the journey without my dear friend Steve Atkinson, my constant companion for 16 days, whose positive can do attitude and, when needed, tough love got us both through to the end.”

David Woodward, Master of The Furniture Makers’ Company, said: “What can I say other than I’m in awe of David’s magnificent achievement. Thank you so much for undertaking such a challenge for the Step 2 It campaign and raising such an incredible amount that we can use to support many people in the trade who have fallen on hard times.”

There is still time to sponsor David via his Virgin Money Giving campaign page: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DavidTracey