Guy Goes North: 1000 miles walked for Young Sounds UK!

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Musician Guy Turner swapped the choir stalls and the conductor’s podium for the open road when he set off to walk over 1,000 miles for charity enroute from Land’s End to John O’Groats!

Guy, who sings in the Cathedral Choir at Southwell Minster and is Conductor of Bingham Choral Society, took on this challenge between late July and early October 2022.

Guy kindly chose us as one of four charities. His initial target was to raise a total of £10,000, £2,500 for each charity. Sponsors could choose which charity or charities they support.

Unfortunately, due to injury, Guy had to curtail the walk after 470 miles. Despite this setback he still exceeded his total target and in 2025 Guy put his boots back on to finish the journey. He completed his walk in stages, reaching his final destination and raising £6,520 for us!

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A map of Guy’s route.

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The idea

“I watch a lot of TV quizzes (and work for some of them as a question writer and checker) and the question master often asks ‘What would you do if you won the jackpot?’ One day I asked myself that question and straight away I realised I would like to walk Land’s End to John O’Groats. In fact, I found a reference in my 1971 diary to wanting to do this! Now is the time. Coupled with this desire is the opportunity to raise money for charities close to my heart.”

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The start of Guy’s trek at Land’s End.

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The planning

To prepare Guy would take regular walks from his home in Maythorne. These loops varied between 18 and 21 miles and he spent five days in Castleton to add some hills. All of these walks were done with a rucksack packed with books and pillows to about the weight he would be carrying.

Sharing

To collect donations Guy created a website which he encouraged his supporters to visit. There they could find information about the charities, links to donate as well as a blog to track his journey! This started in the weeks before as he documented the planning preparation phase. You can visit the website here.

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Guy reaching the finish line at John O’Groats!

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About his walk, Guy said:

“I’ve long admired the work of Young Sounds, all the more important as music seems to be a low priority in state education at the present, and so I chose it as one of my charities for my walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats. I have now completed the whole 1200 miles and am delighted to have raised over £6,500 for Young Sounds.”

We’d like to thank Guy for his enormous generosity!

The work that we do wouldn’t be possible without the help of our generous supporters and donors, like Guy. Find out more about how you can make a difference in young musicians’ lives by fundraising for us below.