{"id":44474,"date":"2018-11-27T20:30:51","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T20:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=44474"},"modified":"2018-11-27T20:30:51","modified_gmt":"2018-11-27T20:30:51","slug":"cardiff-character-gareth-axenderrie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2018\/11\/27\/cardiff-character-gareth-axenderrie\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Gareth Axenderrie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gareth walked 1,164 miles around Wales in 2015 in aid of Velindre Cancer Centre who had previously treated his grandfather<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Gareth Axenderrie, 26, stands outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. The Welsh Assembly building marked the start and end of Gareth\u2019s circuit of Wales on foot.\u00a0<\/span>He followed the Wales Coast Path to Wales\u2019 northernmost beaches before returning via the Offa\u2019s Dyke Path. He also climbed Wales\u2019 three peaks – Cadair Idris, Snowdon and Pen-y-Fan – covering 1,164 miles between 8 June and 29 <\/span><\/p>\n

August 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was hospitalised. That set me back six months while I built up my strength again.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The idea came on a rainy afternoon at the office. \u201c<\/span>There were no customers,\u201d says Gareth, \u201cI’d stacked the same shelves three times. It was boring. We received a delivery of Welsh Coastline leaflets. I picked one up and looked at the Welsh border, thinking, \u2018I wonder how long that’d take to walk.\u2019\u201d He smiles. \u201cA quick Google search later I\u2019d decided.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting off the ground<\/strong><\/h5>\n

People told Gareth he was mad. \u201cThe one person who responded positively was my grandad. He said, \u2018I\u2019d have loved to do it if I was your age.\u2019 That was the only affirmation I needed,\u201d Gareth says.<\/span><\/p>\n