The London Legal Walk is a 10km sponsored walk bringing the legal community together each year to raise funds for legal aid charities in the UK. On the 18th June 2024, LJC Solicitors LLC decided (some more reluctantly than others) to take on the challenge and walk 10km through some of London’s most beautiful parks to support free legal aid.

As the four of us set out in our matching Walk T-Shirts, morale was high and we were feeling ready to walk the 10km from Lincoln Square to Hyde Park and back. As we made our way to Chancery Lane station, Lorita set us the ambitious target of completing the walk within two hours. We got off the train and followed the buzz of anxious legal firms, agencies and chambers to Carey Street, where the race was to begin. As we waited for the 3 pm start, we wandered around the amazing array of stands set up for the walk, collecting sweets, drinks and little notebooks. At 3:15, we found our route map and set off on our walk.

We got off to a rocky start. We had expected the walking to be tiring, but it seems we underestimated the difficulty of following a map. After a few minutes, and a little help from Google Maps, we were back on the right route and our walk began. Although we had picked the walk for the iconic sites and scenery we would see, as we walked past the beautiful Dover House and the Horse’s Guards, the main thing on our minds was how we had only walked 1 of our 10km. But we got into the swing of things and before long, we had passed through St James Park, Buckingham Palace and were well on our way to Hyde Park.

As we approached 5km, fatigue started to set in and the 10km goal felt so far off. The temptation to give up was strong, but we were resolved to finish the 10km and the halfway point gave us a fresh wave of determination. Luckily for us, the second half of the walk went by much faster than the first half, made even easier by the sun deciding to make a last-minute appearance through the thick clouds in the sky. As we neared the end of our walk, our minds turned to the food and drink on offer at the end of the walk which definitely made the last hour much more bearable. We finally finished at 5.45 meaning that we completed the walk in 2 and a half hours, half an hour over Lorita’s target.

Despite not quite meeting the two-hour goal, we were incredibly proud of ourselves for completing the walk; and celebrated with ice cream and drinks back on Carey Street. We had a lovely time, and are pleased to say that we exceeded our target for the London Legal Support Trust.