Local business woman Debra Shaw is soon to embark on an epic journey on foot to Petra in Jordan starting at the Syrian border.
The walk is in aid of Francis House and will involve a long weekend trekking through the rugged, varied and challenging landscape. Along the route, Debra and fellow walkers expect to encounter sand dunes, oasis, caves, waterfalls as they camp out under the stars each night. The 5 day hike starts at the end of November when the team depart from London flying to Amman to spend the first night by the Dead Sea.
Debra is the joint owner and Managing Director of Let Loose Soft Play Centre and the Pepper House Business and Conference Centre both in Hazel Grove. Running the two businesses is time consuming but Debra has found time to train for the journey.
“Training has been hard as I have never done anything like this before. I’ve recently done a series of hikes and walked up Snowdon in preparation. But nothing will prepare me for the heat, sleeping in the open, keeping hydrated and the lack of toilets!”
Let Loose Soft Play Centre recently celebrated its 1st year in business and having two children of her own, Debra wanted to support a childrens charity and raise money and awareness for Francis House in Didsbury.
“Running a children play centre and having children of my own – I wanted to support a related charity. I wanted to find something out of my comfort zone, raise money for charity and this will certainly do that.”
The Business and Conference facility is proving to be a popular addition to the local business community and has been used by a wide range of businesses across Stockport for office space, training and presentations.
The walk ends at Petra – the famous city carved from sandstone in Jordan which has appeared in several films including the Indiana Jones movie.
Temperatures are expected to be high so plenty of provisions are required and be extra vigilant for the odd creepy crawly !
Debra has setup a Just Giving Page here and welcomes any support.