14 September 2009
A surgeon from Epsom and his family have walked from their home to the Isle of Wight, where they enjoyed a ten day summer break.
Paul Thomas, a vascular surgeon at Epsom Hospital, his wife Karen and their children are all keen walkers and took on the 65 mile trek after successfully walking to Brighton for their holiday last year.
Mr Thomas said: "As part of my job I often advise people to take regular exercise, such as walking or cycling. This holiday was definitely a dose of my own medicine!
"As a family, we love walking and it is a great pleasure to spend so much quality time with one another. Children are normally engrossed in texting on their phones or playing on computers, so it's fantastic doing something sociable and healthy as a family."
The three youngest Thomas children, aged 13, 10 and nine all enjoyed the walk so much that next year, the family are planning to walk a mammoth 195 miles as their summer holiday.
Mr Thomas said: "I think we were all really spurred on by how much we enjoyed our holiday. The walk itself was lovely, with some beautiful views along the way.
"Probably the best thing was that we didn't walk on one road. It was all public footpaths that led us over the North Downs and then over the South Downs – it was just incredible and I would really recommend it to any active family."
The Thomas' completed the walk over the course of five days and stopped off to stay at bed and breakfasts along the route. They arrived in Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight after catching the ferry from Portsmouth.
And if all that wasn't enough walking for the fitness-mad family, once they got to the Isle of Wight, they walked 20 miles across the island to St Lawrence.
