Shadow Of The Wall

15 November: Day 35

David would like to express his sincere gratitude to all sponsors who supported this expedition and to all land-owners and representatives of organisations who helped make the expedition happen.

A decision was made to discontinue the expedition based upon ground and weather conditions, logistical difficulties of trekking with two laden ponies, available daily sunlight, condition of the ponies and of David, recorded film footage and media interest.

I order to further continue the expedition beyond Walby Farm Park, it would have been necessary to use only one pony, to significantly reduce morning and evening preparation time, to allow faster travel and to ensure safety in view of ground conditions. Because Roamer had been working hardest, this would have meant resting Roamer, cutting down equipment by about 55% weight to bare minimum survival gear and using only the Roman pack saddle.

Whilst this approach would probably have meant that the return journey was achievable, a decision was made not to split up the team because all possible interviews and most schools had been filmed, the outward journey coast to coast had been achieved but had been arduous, some equipment was becoming inadequate or had been used to destruction and the height of the water table meant that ease of travel was becoming increasingly difficult.

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