In 2002, I was reading a Sunday newspaper and found myself drawn to an article about hiking the 2000 year old Hadrian’s Wall. The walk along Hadrian’s Wall Path is an 84 mile (135 Km) National Trail stretching coast to coast across northern England, from Wallsend, Newcastle upon Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway on the west coast.  It generally follows the line of Hadrian’s Wall, along the way passing through some of the most beautiful parts of northern England – from rolling fields and rugged moorland to the vibrant cities of Newcastle and Carlisle.   As someone interested in history, this was another attraction for me given the purposes for which the wall was built. Hadrian’s Wall was actually the north-west frontier of the Roman empire for nearly 300 years. It was built by the Roman army on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian following his visit to Britain in AD 122. It crossed northern Britain from Wallsend on the River Tyne in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west. The most famous of all the frontiers of the Roman empire, Hadrian’s Wall was made a World Heritage Site in 1987.

I tore out those pages inside the newspaper and put it in my “to do” pile.  At the time, I was a 47 year old self confessed workaholic.  The newspaper cuttings were sifted around in my “to do” pile every few months but I still kept them, I still kept that dream alive.

I was then diagnosed with metastatic Neuroendocrine Cancer in July 2010, 8 years after I cut out that newspaper article.  It remained in my “to do” pile for another 3 years while I had numerous tests, scans, surgeries, procedures, pills, injections.  As a self confessed workaholic, I also continued to work throughout this 3 year ordeal.

I then realised that my lifestyle might kill me before the cancer, so I sought out that well thumbed, slightly torn, coffee stained, newspaper article, now 11 years old.  The 2000 year old wall was still there and the path was well trodden by over 100,000 people since I placed it into my “to do” pile.  With the help of my wife Chris, I turned that well thumbed piece of newspaper into a proper plan and between 26th and 31st May 2014, Chris and I completed this challenge.   Tick!

So, what exactly is a bucket list?  It’s a “to do” list for all intents and purposes. Although, I mostly hear older people using the phrase ‘bucket list’ and I particularly hear people with serious or life limiting illnesses using it, e.g. those dealing with cancer.  However, in the most general terms it means a list of the experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime, i.e. a bucket list is an itemised list of goals people want to accomplish before they “kick the bucket” (die).  That said, many people do leave this until later in life and many use it for many things including adventures, holidays, physical challenges, mental challenges, yada yada.