Benedict Puts His Best Foot Forward For 1200 Mile Walk



The 28-year-old, who lives in Covent Garden, London, and originally from Bristol, started his pilgrimage yesterday (Monday April 28th). Benedict is also planning on raising money for international development charity Practical Action during his walk.

Starting in Canterbury, Benedict will undertake a traditional pilgrimage route along the Via Francigena. He will cross the channel as a foot passenger, walk down through France, across the Alps in Switzerland and then through Italy to Rome. If the trip goes to plan, Benedict will arrive in mid July.

Practical Action (http://www.practicalaction.org) works with some of the world's poorest communities, empowering people to use suitable technologies to ease poverty. It firmly believes the tools to reduce poverty may be simple or sophisticated, but to provide long-term, practical answers, they must be placed firmly in the hands of local people.

Benedict -- whose active and outgoing personality is likely to win him many friends along the way, has many motivations for his trip; as well as having the opportunity to explore his Christian faith further in peace and isolation; he hopes the trip will allow him time to reflect on his life, the future and get to know himself better.

Benedict said: "The challenge of spending three months walking and camping in unfamiliar places really appeals to the explorer within me. However it also gives me the time and space to reflect while looking forward to future ventures."

In addition, Benedict's father Robin Protheroe, Canon emeritus at Bristol Cathedral, will be celebrating the fact that it is 50 years -- or jubilee -- since he was ordained in as a priest on May 31 1958.

While Benedict will miss his father's jubilee celebrations, this event has motivated him to further explore his own faith and reflect on his father's dedication to the church.

He added that while sponsorship was not his motivation for doing the walk. Practical Action was his chosen charity as he admired their ethos of empowering people and giving them the resources to be able to make their own choices, now and for generations to come.

To donate to Benedict's walk, please visit his Just Giving site: http://www.justgiving.com/benedictprotheroe

-    Practical Action's website can be found at: http://www.practicalaction.org

-     Note to Editor: Practical Action, an international development agency, works with poor communities to help them choose and use technology to improve their lives for today and for generations to come.

For more information, please contact: Jane Eason, Practical Action Media Officer, Tel: +44(0)1926 634510, Out of Hours: +44(0)7970 285823.





Benedict Puts His Best Foot Forward For 1200 Mile Walk