Forces Charities

2 Castles, 5 Men, 446 Miles And Bagpipes

Five dedicated volunteers will walk from Windsor to Edinburgh to raise money and awareness for the Royal British Legion and the Household Cavalry Foundation.

Traversing the country for those who have served it, the team is made up of three serving soldiers, one veteran and one civilian.

Starting at Windsor Castle on July 29th, they will be greeted with a hero’s welcome at the opening ceremony of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo on August 7th.

Aptly named CastleTrek, the walk won’t be over until the team march across the drawbridge into Edinburgh Castle.

Martin Semple is the team leader and the brainpower behind the project.

Having served for Eight years with the Household Cavalry, Martin left the army three and a half years ago and currently works for the Police.

He said: "Some of my friends were severely injured, not just from operations overseas but also accidents and incidents over here in the UK. I really wanted to raise some money for them, help them out with their futures and their rehabilitation. So that lead me to the idea of CastleTrek."

The idea for the project came to Martin 18 months ago and has been a real labour of love. He said:

"I’m a bagpiper. I wanted to link my old regiment with one of the most famous cities for bagpiping which is Edinburgh"

Born and raised in the Scottish capital, Martin grew up on the Edinburgh military tattoo.

"My father worked in the castle. He was serving at the time as well. So, I wanted to incorporate that in some way."

During the official evening of the unveiling of the project at the Household Cavalry Museum, with a glass of wine in hand, Martin jokingly said:

“I did all the marketing before I realised that Edinburgh to Windsor would be easier as it’s all downhill. We already had the t-shirts by then so we kind of have to stick with it now.”

The overall objective is to raise 25 thousand pounds which will be split equally between the Royal British Legion and Household Cavalry Foundation.

Currently, the project needs three thousand to reach its goal.

Martin has been very clear that raising awareness of the charities work is just as important as raising funds. He said:

"What I am considerate about is that people are thinking of the Royal British Legion only at one time a year on Remembrance Day when actually they do so much the whole year round ... they look after the veterans and the families and the serving soldiers as well."

"They do more than just stick a poppy on your chest on the 11th of November."

According to Martin, the Household Cavalry Foundation is not as well known as the Royal British Legion. He said:

"It is a very small military welfare charity that looks after soldiers that have served in the Household Cavalry and also families that are affected by lost loved ones.

"We are looking for donations, people who can go on our website to see more about the charities and what they do."

The ordeal will take 10 days but according to Martin it’s a "simple march from A to B."

When asked about footwear, Martin confessed that he prefers trainers to walking books.

During rigorous training, he has already gone through 5 pairs which his wife keeps diligently buying.

There are 11 people who are proudly sporting CastleTrek branded t-shirts. Only five of them will end up with severe blisters.

The other members of the team won’t be walking but will ensure that the operation runs smoothly.

James Fitzgerald has served with the Household Cavalry in both the armoured and mounted regiments for 29 years. The support team volunteer said:

"I thought as I got so much from the Household Cavalry I wanted to give back. And the best way was two weeks of my leave to help these gents finish their walk."

Thanks to the generosity of Jaguar and Land Rover who have lent two Discoveries for the project, James will be able to carry out his role in comfort and style.