GOWER: TV Survivor winner joins hundreds of walkers on Rhossili coast trek for Marie Curie

The youngest person ever to win Survivor UK joined more than 500 walkers on the Gower coast on Saturday, raising money for end of life charity Marie Curie.

Matthew Haywood was among 514 participants taking on 11 or 21-mile routes from Rhossili in the charity’s Beat the Gower Coast trek, held on the first day of the Gower Walking Festival.

The routes took in the full sweep of Rhossili Bay, its dunes and the surfers out below.

“Marie Curie’s work is a cause close to my heart, so I was delighted to also be able to join this trek, and what a beautiful part of the world to be able to explore!” Matthew said.

“Being able to meet and talk to supporters and staff during the 21-mile trail was so lovely, but also inspirational. That some of the staff have spent the week caring for dying people and then come out to do this to support the charity is incredible.”

He had a pitch for anyone tempted next year, too: “You’re getting to meet like-minded people and getting outside. In a world where we’re always looking down at our phones, or at our computer screen, you’ll get to look up, put the phone away and just take in this incredible experience.”

His fundraising page from the trek remains open on JustGiving.

Among the charity staff on the trail was Siwan Seaman, Marie Curie Cymru’s medical director, who walked the full 21 miles.

“Every step they take helps Marie Curie reach more people who need care and support at the end of life,” she said. “We are incredibly grateful to everyone taking part and to all those who have donated.”

Sallyann Hill, a healthcare assistant with the charity in Cardiff and the Vale, walked the shorter route last year and returned for the full 21 miles, and said her patients carried her along it.

“When we were thinking we were breathless from walking, I just kept thinking of those patients with a lung condition who are always breathless,” she said.

“It was going to be over for us at the end of the trek, but they deal with that symptom daily.”

Last year’s first Beat the Gower Coast saw 617 walkers raise £182,228 for the charity.

Marie Curie is the UK’s leading end of life charity, not a cancer charity as is often assumed, caring for people with any illness they are likely to die from, including dementia, heart, lung and motor neurone disease, at home and at its hospice in Penarth. In Wales its Urgent Hospice Care at Home teams provide crisis support so people at the end of life can avoid emergency departments, and its free support line is on 0800 090 2309.

Next year’s trek is on Saturday 4 September 2027, with sign-up at mariecurie.org.uk/beat-the-trails.

Author

Kit Peters

Kit Peters is a journalist and the editor of Swansea Bay News, covering Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire since 2020.