Alan Bretos estimates he has walked the equivalent to the circumference of the world – between his home and Castell Coch
EVERY weekend, Alan Bretos makes a seven-mile round-trip from the doorstep of his house to Castell Coch.
On a quiet Saturday in November, The Cardiffian joined Alan, 57, as he completed his 339th walk and it is clear he is just getting started.
“1,000,” he said. “That’s my target. So I’ll be in my ’70s, if I can make it there.”
“It’s good for your mind, it’s good for your heart”
In 2014, following a heart attack, Mr Bretos was diagnosed with a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood around the body.
His diagnosis forced him to reconsider his three-times-a week 10k runs.
“I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore’.”.
To replace his usual exercise, he decided to start going on long walks to help his heart: “To make it stronger and keep it going.
“If people have got conditions, walking’s the best thing to do.
“Simple, straight walking. Good for everything.”
He has now been doing his walk from Hailey Park to Castell Coch for the past nine years.
Aside from the positive physical effects, walking provides mental benefits for the father-of-two.
“You feel invigorated,” he said. “It’s good for your mind, it’s good for your heart.”
Mr Bretos described how he will often go into a world of his own, spending his two-hour walks organising holidays, thinking about the day-ahead or what his daughters, Lily and Ruby, who are both at university, are up to.
“I’ll be planning my week ahead and then I’ll go back into my life sometimes and examine things,” he said.
As we walk, he fondly remembers planning Halloween-themed walks in the evening when his daughters were younger, arriving home to feast on tomato soup, bread rolls and toffee apples.
His daughters share his love for the walk and often join him or even walk it in their own time.
“So tranquil and beautiful”
Unless bad weather, holidays or commitments get in the way, he aims to walk each Saturday or Sunday.
The route from Hailey Park to Castell Coch has “more or less stayed the same,” over the last 10 years.
Setting off in the early hours of the morning, he walks through Melingrifith Tin Works, up the Glamorganshire Canal and past the River Taff.
Walking alongside The Taff is his favourite part of the route. “It looks beautiful in all the seasons, so tranquil, beautiful,” he said.
Along the route, the travel enthusiast will pause to take photos, which he posts to Facebook and X to mark each of his walks.
His walks have gained a small following and have even been noticed by former cricketer, Matthew Maynard. Mr Bretos’s followers often notice when he hasn’t posted, asking him “‘Where were you this week? You didn’t do your posts’,” the Llandaff-North resident said.
When Mr Bretos arrives at Castell Coch, he touches three stones: “It’s my ritual, to say I’ve a been to the castle and back,” he said.
For his return route, he follows the Taff Trail via Radyr Weir, passing Friends of Forest Farm and Cardiff Cricket club.
“I walk quick, which is a good thing for your ticker,” he said.
“You gotta walk at speed, that’s the benefits, it’s a power walk as opposed to a saunter.”
He arrives home at around 9.30am, ready for his typical breakfast of two boiled eggs on toast and a mug of tea.
“I go through four pairs of shoes a year”
“Whitchurch boy” Mr Bretos has been an avid-walker for much of his life. For the past 25 years, he has made his daily commute to Amari Plastics, where he works as a salesman, by foot, walking five miles every day.
Walking up to 32 miles a week takes a considerable toll on his footwear. “I go through four pairs of shoes a year,” he says.
Mr Bretos has also estimated that he has walked quite the distance.
“I’ve done all the calculations and I’ve done the circumference of the world and beyond,” he said. “I think I’ve done it at least once.”
To commemorate his 200th walk, Mr Bretos set up a Just Giving page, raising £760 pounds for Cardiomyopathy UK.
As his 400th walk edges ever closer, he hopes to do some more fundraising to mark the occasion.
“It’s such a simple thing” he said. “I’m so lucky to have a walk on my doorstep”.
