Let's have an ADVENTURE!

Fancy setting yourself a new year challenge? Five women share the thrills of breaking out of their comfort zone

- KIM WILLIS

'THE CAMINO GAVE ME THE PUSH I NEEDED'

Sarah Walker, 49, lives in Twickenham with her daughter Tilly, 15, and their dog Cosmo.

After a 15-year marriage and a tumultuous three-year separation, my divorce was final in April 2023. Desperate for an escape, I decided to embark on a transformative journey: a 35-day, 800km hike along the Camino de Santiago, from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago in Spain. I needed to walk off all the thoughts that were swirling around my head.

Ten days in, I succumbed to debilitating flu-like symptoms. Through sweat and tears, I pressed on. The day I started to feel better was the day I met Cass, 46, from Melbourne, and Rachel, 36, from Colorado, fellow pilgrims who became my angels. They didn't know each other but had started walking around the same day I had.

It just took us two weeks to book into the same hostel on the same night and get talking. As we walked together, I learnt that Cass had four children and was a keen ceramicist. Rachel was married and worked as a baker. We were all so different, but we bonded with every step we took.

The pilgrimage was tough - but meeting Cass and Rachel marked the beginning of my reconstruction. The Camino gave me the push I needed to finally launch my landlord training consultancy, Lessons in Lettings, an idea that I had been mulling over for a long time. It provided me with solitude when I needed it, and companionship when I was ready.