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A local mother and son have booked a one-way flight to complete Britain's longest walking trail in aid of a local homelessness charity.
Michelle and Alfie Cotillard left Jersey on Saturday 20 July with the aim of completing the South West Coast Path to raise money for the Shelter Trust Jersey.
The 630-mile path stretches from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset.
Michelle was inspired to take on the challenge after reading Raynor Winn's memoir, The Salt Path, which documents the journey of a couple who walked the path after becoming homeless.
Pictured: Michelle and Alfie have now passed the 100-mile mark of the South West Coast Path. (Michelle Cotillard)
Yoga teacher Michelle worked as a Support Worker for the Shelter Trust for 12 years, and saw first-hand how the charity helped to rebuild the lives of islanders.
She is now over 100 miles into the mammoth challenge alongside her 13-year-old son Alfie, who is a student at Grainville.
The pair said they are "taking it one day at a time".
Equivalent to four ascents and descents of Mount Everest altogether, the South West Coast Path is certainly not a walk in the park.
Speaking to Express on their rest day, Michelle and Alfie admitted that it is a lot harder than they first thought.
“We totally under estimated how hard this was going to be,” said Michelle.
“I thought this path was going to be like the North coast [of Jersey] but it’s not like that at all!
“The ups can be up for hours, and the downs are so steep that it really slows you down until you’re practically crawling.”
The mum-and-son duo are also facing hot weather, and have to carry their heavy packs of supplies.
Pictured: The pair "totally underestimated" the difficulty of the challenge. (Michelle Cotillard)
"It's not all about the physical, it’s about the mental battle sometimes,” said Michelle.
“Carrying our packs in hot weather is really hard.
“Our ideal weather is overcast with a good breeze and so far we’ve had a lot of rain and hot sun which is making it tricky.”
She explained that it is also difficult to find where is best to stop for the night, and there is often little around the path in terms of finding food.
Having selflessly sacrificed his school holidays to walk with his mum, Alfie told Express how the thought of a 630-mile walk didn't sound very inviting at first.
“When mum first came to me and told me about the walk and said it was 600 miles I was like 'hell no'," he said.
“But when she said it was for charity I said I’d join. It’s a good cause and I definitely wouldn’t be doing it otherwise.”
Pictured: The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest trail and the subject of Raynor Winn's memoir. (Michelle Cotillard)
Alfie and his mum are keeping each other's spirits up along the way – but Michelle admitted that, as a parent, she sometimes worries about Alfie joining her on the challenge.
Michelle said: "Sometimes when we get stuck, the weight of the responsibility is really difficult.
"If it’s just you and you're stuck in the middle of nowhere, that’s okay if you’re an adult, but as a parent it’s tough."
She added: “We can be walking along a beach on a sunny day and there’s hundreds of children having a great time and Alfie’s just plodding along with me."
The yoga teacher also explained why she chose to complete the challenge in aid of the Shelter Trust.
“I found out someone I knew needed recent help of the Shelter Trust,” she said.
“There are lots of amazing charities in Jersey but homeless charities have a real difficulty with funding because of the preconceived ideas about what homeless people are like and they are really wrong."
Pictured: During her time as a Support Worker for Shelter Trust Jersey Michelle has seen how they help people rebuild their lives (Michelle Cotillard)
Michelle said that she had met some "incredible people" who were supported by the Shelter Trust.
“It’s not just the money but also about raising awareness," she added.
“The reason we don’t see people sitting on the streets in Jersey is because the Shelter Trust have their outreach service and they basically scoop people up.
“We do have extreme poverty but don’t always see it.”
Although Michelle and Alfie have needed to dig deep at times during their first 100 miles, the pair said that they think about the cause for a morale boost.
Having already smashed their £5,000 fundraising target, the mum-and-son are hoping to raise as much money as possible.
You can sponsor Michelle and Alfie HERE.
You can also keep track of their journey through regular updates on their dedicated Facebook page.
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