All Creatures Great and Small

Updated: Jun 23, 2023

This week (20th-24th October) saw the Veterinary Voices Hiking Group gather to hike the Herriot Way.

As Herriot once wrote:

Animals are unpredictable things, and so our life is unpredictable. It's a long tale of little triumphs and disasters.

The Herriot Way hike aims to raise vital funds for our community experiencing the ‘unpredictable’. Vetlife Chairty aims to support our community through mental health burdens, its services are needed more so than ever in the current climate.

For many the stories of Herriot was the first taste of veterinary, and although veterinary medicine has grown and changed considerably since the days of Herriot the Hiking Group gathered in what was a reminder of the past – a community.

Walking in persistent rain, fog, drizzle, autumn sun and gusty wind the Veterinary Voices Hiking Group covered the Herriot way over four days – going back to their base at Keld Lodge for the evening. The group even enjoyed learning new things from other members such as ballroom dancing and exhilarating dips in the cold local waterfalls by moonlight!

For many walkers this was a chance to talk, make new friends and connections and enjoy the great outdoors; an aim of the group is to bring our community together. It was also a time of reflection on those friends and colleagues who are struggling or who we have sadly lost, a reminder of why fundraising for Vetlife is so essential to allow them to carry on their vital work.

On various days the group had 15-20+ walkers, a mix of both veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses, plus a heartwarming pack of well-behaved dogs who provided entertainment and laughs for the walk – running at least three times the length the group walked!