A 22-year-old who walked from Manchester to Ibiza and raised over £160,000 money for a children’s charity has called it an “unbelievable experience” - and celebrated by partying with Wayne Lineker at the finish line.
Henry Moores embarked on his 1,400 mile walk to the popular party island on April 12 and documented the process on his TikTok and Instagram accounts, on which he has amassed over 300,000 followers on each.
After a 66-day journey, which saw him travel down the UK to Portsmouth, across France and Spain, before finally catching the long-awaited ferry to Ibiza, Henry was reunited with a very important person at the finish line on June 17.
Moores met Tony Hudgell, the nine-year-old boy of the eponymous Tony Hudgell Foundation, which raises money for children who are victims of child abuse. Hudgell had both legs amputated following abuse he received by his birth parents as a child.
Henry Moores walked 66 days from Ibiza to Manchester and raised over £160,000 for charityTony Hudgell Foundation/Instagram - @henryoscarmooresSpeaking to GB News, Moores recounted the moment he completed his impressive challenge and crossed the finish line with Hudgell.
“Words can't describe it, to be honest. It was so overwhelming and unbelievable. There's so many flashbacks sort of going through your mind on those last few steps. Why are you doing it? All the bad moments you had, all the good moments. There's all this sort of coming back to you on that finish line and it's like, boom. And then the rest was just chaos.”
The 22-year-old is no stranger to epic challenges, having walked from Macclesfield to Paris the year prior. After glimpsing the Eiffel Tower, Moores was ready to embark on his next adventure, this time with a much sunnier destination.
Asked about his decision to undertake such a lengthy walk, he said: “There’s two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to raise money for a charity that I really believed in. And the second, was for personal achievement reasons and just wanting to do something before getting a bit older.”
He said that he is unsure career wise what he wanted to do but knew that right now he wanted to “do something crazy with a great story”.
“I’d say a lot of it is like me wanting to achieve something for myself. And also while doing that, if you can raise over £100,000 for charity, it's just a win win. So I'm really chuffed.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Moores teamed up with Wayne Lineker to help get the challenge off the ground
Tony Hudgell Foundation
Moores, who does not drive, has always enjoyed walking thanks to his mum. Despite this, the 66-day walk did not come without its challenges.
Walking on average seven to 12 hours a day, Moores often struggled to find the motivation to get out of bed and start the day’s journey. “I’d get up about 7.00am, then edit and post my videos. By the time I left, it was normally around 11.00am. Just because I think you dread the day so much. You don't want to get up and go because you know it's going to be so boring and it's going to be so similar to yesterday. So I was dreading getting up and going.”
Surprisingly, the UK weather was kind to Moores and he encountered no problems bar a day or two of rain. However, in mainland Europe, the weather proved to be a real challenge.
“When I got into France, the weather went absolutely terrible. Even in parts of Spain, it was awful too. I even had a few storms which obviously aren’t great when you’re walking such big distances. It was also either really hot or rainy - there was no in-between, which you sort of want in between when you're walking long distances. Doing that much exercise, you really don't want it to be super hot.”
Alongside the weather, Moores had to deal with both exhaustion and loneliness, but posting content about his journey online provided a great source of both support and motivation.
“I think I had a lot of support, a lot of good people around me,” and he went on to explain how many people came to join him along the way, as well as making new friends “from all different walks of life”.
The 22-year-old is no stranger to epic challenges, having walked from Macclesfield to Paris the year prior
Instagram - @henryoscarmoores
Moores embarked on his 1,400 mile walk to the popular party island on April 12
Instagram - @henryoscarmoores
Asked how he kept motivated, he said: “I think ultimately as well, you've just got to know why you're doing it. You’ve got to know what the trip entails. You know, if you're on day two and you're looking down the barrel and there's 64 days left, is it is hard to motivate yourself because at the end of the day, whatever you do in between is not gonna make much of a difference. You've still got 64 days remaining.
“I just told myself to carry on and that it will be worth it. Just saying to myself that I was believing in what I was doing, believing why I was doing it. And I know when I started this for a reason, I'm going to finish it with the same sort of mindset.”
Upon finally making it to Ibiza, Moores was greeted by not only nine-year-old Tony, but also Wayne Lineker, who was an integral part of the experience.
The 22-year-old reached out to Lineker, who owns a bar on the popular island, and couldn’t believe his eyes when he received a response.
Moores went down to Lineker’s house in London to arrange the trip, and the brother of the BBC broadcaster helped the 22-year-old secure a sponsor. “It was at that point I knew, like, there's no going back now - my name is attached to this.”
Asked what’s next, Moores revealed he already has “something in the works”, but until then, is going to soak up the sun in Ibiza and enjoy a much deserved rest.
