Return To Romance

My name is Nigel Hearnden and in January 2008 I began a series of walks and other events to raise £50,000 for charities supported by my late wife, Anne.

The story of the walk - 22 May 2008

1305 miles completed - the end of the journey

After stops in Grosseto and Civitavecchia I completed the 1290 miles during the afternoon of 14th May. I decided that I would carry on walking and try to pass 1300 miles and so on to Rome where at 1330 (CET) on 16th May I arrived in the square of St Peter's with a final total of 1305 miles in 110 days.

For the last mile I was accompanied by a film crew who were filming the arrival for TV back in the UK and as I crossed the Ponte St Angelo I met a couple from Poole in Dorset, England who saw Gosport on my T Shirt and wanted to know what it was all about and seemed very impressed with the project.

Waiting for me near the Obelisk outside the Basilica of St Peter's was my eldest son, Annes two sisters and a family friend together with two other friends who had joined up to walk with me for the final week, representatives from Action Aid (UK) and a couple of Italian reporters.

Whenever I had been asked about how it would feel to reach the end, I am told that I have been very relaxed about it; in reality it was very emotional for various reasons. Although there were thousands of people in the square (some came over to see what was going on) and family and friends, I felt very alone because the one person that I wished could have seen it and was the reason behind the walk wasn't there.

Perhaps the adrenalin rush had started to wane because I suddenly felt very tired, physically and emotionally, and could not put in to words how it felt to finally make it to Rome. In reality it took until the following day before I could truly express how I felt.

Then it was time to go back to the hotel for a quick freshen up and change before going on to the offices of Action Aid Italy. Although their head office is in Milan, the President of Action Aid Italy came down to Rome especially to meet me having only arrived back from Brazil a few hours before. All the staff and Trustees wanted to hear about the walk and warmly congratulated me for completing such a major project and told me that I would always have a home in Rome if I came back.

All too soon it was on to the next appointment, tea with the British Ambassador to the Holy See at his residence near to the Quirinale Palace. Such invitations do not come around very often and it proved to be one of those extra special moments that I won't forget. Ambassador Campbell made both me and those who had travelled from the UK feel so welcome and was keen to hear about my exploits in person. The Ambassador had another surprise; both he and the Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth had made applications to the Vatican for me to meet the Pope. At that stage he was not in a position to know whether it would be granted as the final decision is only taken the afternoon before the general audience which takes place every Wednesday. The numbers introduced to his Holiness are limited to around 20 people and it would depend on who else had been nominated but the Ambassador hoped that he would see me at the audience where he would be accompanying one of the Government Ministers for Foreign Affairs.

Just as I thought things were starting to slow down and we all enjoying the celebration meal, a journalist from Gazetta Dello Sport, which is Italy's largest selling sports newspaper, asked if he could interview me. He said that having seen the story in the local press earlier in the week, the newspaper was keen to learn more. The interview appeared in the paper the following day and if you would like to read it, go to www.gazette.it and search under my name.

Over the next couple of days, I managed to visit some of the sites that Anne and I had wanted to visit including the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. A few weeks ago, somebody told me that Anne was seeing everything through my eyes and I wish she could have been there beside me to see the most wonderful paintings, tapestries etc culminating in the breathtaking works of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel.

Monday evening saw me saying goodbye to family and friends and also to the sunshine that had been with me for the previous couple of weeks. In its place was torrential rain and severe thunderstorms. The rain continued for much of the following four days - perhaps somebody was trying to tell me something.

On Tuesday I visited the Venerable English College where those studying for the priesthood from the UK undertake their seven years of training leading to ordination. The reason for my visit was to catch up with one of the seminarians who I had met in Portsmouth in the summer of 2007 and the Rector of the college. Waiting for me was a copy of a letter from the Vatican to the Bishop of Portsmouth agreeing to my attendance at the general audience and that I should collect my ticket from the relevant office.

Anybody who has attended the Wednesday audience will know that you have to go the Bronze Door of the Apostolic Palace to collect the ticket. So off I went, letter in hand and found a queue of people waiting for tickets. When I reached the head of the queue I showed my letter to the member of the Swiss Guard who was handing out tickets and just as he was handing me one from the pile he stopped, read the letter again and pointed me in the direction of an office further inside the palace.

Having collected the ticket I returned to the hotel not sure where I was supposed to go or what to do as all the ticket had on it was where I had to report to but not where it was.

So to Wednesday and yet another unforgettable day, I arrived in the Vatican where, due to the very inclement weather that has struck Rome since Monday, the audience had been moved indoors. The first part of the audience was to take place in the Basilica of St Peter's with the main part of the audience taking place in the Pope Paul VI hall. I headed to the Basilica and wandered around and eventually approached a member of the Swiss Guard who seeing what was written on the ticket summoned a member of the security team who escorted me to the other hall. I showed my ticket to another guard and suddenly found myself being escorted and saluted several times towards a side corridor where I eventually found myself towards the front of the hall (which seats several thousand people). Here one of the pontiff's chamberlain staff escorted me to my seat right at the front of the hall behind a barrier. As there was some other chairs set out in font of the barrier I concluded that I would not be one of those introduced to the Holy Father but was more than happy to be that close.

How wrong I was, a photographer approached me to confirm my name and asked me if I would like an official photograph of my meeting with the Pope. The audience is also broadcast live on Italian TV. About half an hour later, the first part of the audience started, which we were able to watch on the big screen. Shortly afterwards a door opened on the side of the stage in the main hall and in came the Pope and his entourage. The Pope began the audience with the Blessing and a sermon. Also on the stage were about a dozen bishops, some played a pivotal role in the proceedings as they would address the Pope and the audience in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian and Italian. The purpose was reflect the various languages of the world so that all present could be involved and as each group was announced, they chanted, sang, played instruments or simply shouted out the Pope's name. After each group was announced, the Pope responded to each country represented in their language to the delight of all.

The next phase was for the Pope to give the benediction followed by greeting all the Bishops and then a group of people in wheel chairs which was a really moving moment. The Pope then came down the stairs to meet the Ministers from foreign Governments and Ambassadors who accompanied them. This included a foreign office minister from the UK who I had been introduced to earlier in the proceedings. Then it was the turn of the 20 selected individuals to be introduced to the Pope and suddenly he was standing in front of me and after a brief opportunity to explain why I was there and receive his blessing he had to move on. Each person who is introduced to the Pope receives a gift as a memento of their visit which is emblazoned with the papal crest.

By this time I estimated that the audience had overrun by at least 90 minutes. Throughout the audience I had been sitting next to a bishop from Germany who was also introduced to the Pope and he had explained that had we been outside we would have been sat to the side of the Pope whereas indoors we were straight in front of him. As we both walked up the main aisle towards the exit we were congratulated by hundreds of people in the audience and then it was back into the rain and the start of several phone calls.

It has been a hectic week but one I will never forget. I have kept my promise and returned to Rome and visited the places that Anne and I had planned to visit. There have also been the events that were not envisaged when I set off four months ago - meeting the British Ambassador, a minister of the British Government, being interviewed by the national press of a foreign country and the ultimate honour for a member of the Catholic church, meeting the Pope.

I have also found over 1000 friends around the world and received so many messages of support and best wishes along the way.

I want to thank all of you who have contacted me with messages of support or comments on the diaries (all positive thank goodness) and to those who have sponsored me. I am sure that there are other people out there who may have been waiting for me to complete the walk before donating, well I am in sight of the finishing line so please go online (www.return2romance.co.uk) and follow the 'donate now 'link and help me get to that £50,000 for the four charities.

After 110 days and 1305 miles (2090 KM) the journey to Rome is over but I will never forget the events of the past four months and I look forward to going home in another few days to see my other sons and grandchildren and having a little rest before starting the planning for the next walk which starts in the Spring of 2009. I will also be starting to write the book which so many of you have said that you would like to buy a copy of and I will let you have details in due course - assuming I find a publisher.

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