Arcadia Park 625 Mile Walk

A Message From Colin:

Hello. I’m Colin Miller. In June 2020 when the first COVID lockdown had come into force, I woke one morning to find I had lost most of the sight in my right eye. Two days later I was diagnosed with a condition called NAION (Non-arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy). I was immediately placed on a high dosage of steroids to try and protect my left eye suffering the same condition as is common with NAION. I have always been fit but the steroids meant to treat me caused severe weight gain, sapped me of my energy and made every joint ache. When I was finally taken off the steroids I was a physical and mental wreck.

It was at that time that I found Arcadia Community Park just down from my house. In the park I found the perfect place to help me try and recover physically and mentally. The path that loops inside the park was exactly what I needed. That first day I walked 4 laps , the next day I managed 6 laps and with each subsequent day I added more and more. I kept at it every day, building up my fitness again in an environment I felt safe in while also dealing with sight loss, balance issues and depression. One day Bob spoke to me and enquired about my situation as he had seen me walking laps day after day. When I explained what I was doing and why, Bob told me about the park and the setup of the project from the start. He also told me that the looped path was exactly one quarter of a mile. That information inspired me just when I needed it. Every day after that became a new challenge to go further and further. Every 4 laps was another mile towards some kind of recovery. I would break up my walks doing sessions in the morning and then later at night where I would use the solar powered lights in the path as my guide. Knowing that the lights alternated between left and right was the guide I needed to complete laps in the dark. On a Saturday at the end of October 2020 I completed my first marathon distance (26.2 miles) in a single day. Every time I walk I have one earphone in. At first, as I was getting back to fitness I would just listen to music. As time passed I began to add in podcasts and audiobooks so that I kept focussing on other things other than my condition as I walked.

Unfortunately in January 2021 I lost the vision in my left eye overnight. When that eye failed I had a decision to make. On confirmation it had gone the same way as my right eye I cried for about 10 seconds. So much of my life would be impossible from then on but I decided then and there I was just going to keep moving forward, literally. Being so familiar with the park helped greatly.

I walk my laps in Arcadia Community Park most every day for so many reasons and I know without the park, I would not be where I am today. Bob, Paul and so many volunteers such as Alison have taken a bland area of grass and turned it into a wonderland of plant-life and wildlife, with natural adventure playgrounds and paths for everyone to explore. Over the last four and a bit years I must have walked thousands of laps. I walk clockwise, sticking to the outside of the circle path. I can walk on autopilot and I take in the sounds of so many things that the park gives people access to. I hear people strolling, jogging or cycling, children riding their bikes or parents teaching their kids to ride, people walking their dogs, kids hunting for frogs, forts being built or giant Jenga being played. I hear bees buzzing and many bird songs I can’t identify but I love to hear. People discuss the multitude of plants and flowers and enjoy the abundance of nature the park offers. I’ve been spoken to by people visiting loved ones in the hospital across the road who sit in the park for a piece of serenity while having to deal with difficult times. I’ve also spoken to people recovering from various ailments where the park is the perfect environment for them to build themselves back up again or push back against what they are dealing with. In a time when everything is soaring in price, Arcadia Community Park offers so much to everyone for free.

I will never be able to express how much the park means to me and how it truly saved me. I was left to fend for myself and the park became my physio, my therapist and everything I needed it to be. I am safe to walk in the park and I can imagine I am walking anywhere. I could be walking the North Coast 500, Route 66 or along the Great Wall of China. When walking the laps, I am focussed on always moving forward and not allowing myself to dwell on the past and the sadness that could have smothered me. For this I am grateful and I would like to give something back to the park and the volunteers who created it and keep it alive.

On 1 June this year I will start walking the distance from Land’s End to Kirkwall as the crow flies, the length of Britain a quarter of a mile at a time. I will be walking 625 miles by walking laps of Arcadia Community Park in or under 57 days.. That’s a total of 2,500 laps altogether or a minimum of 10.96 miles a day. I will provide weekly updates on how the walk is progressing and what park projects such as planting and blooming are taking place while I complete my journey.

This Go Fund Me page has been set up by the Park with all donations going directly to Arcadia Community Park. Any donations would be greatly appreciated and will help fund the growth of the park and its annual running costs.

-Colin Miller.

A message from Paul and Bob:

In May 2017, Orkney Islands Council provided Orkney Alcohol Counselling and Advisory Service (OACAS) with the free lease of the open space between Scapa Crescent and New Scapa Road Kirkwall which had once been a children’s play area. Bob Mackenzie who at that time was part of OACAS had a vision for the organisation to make this area into a natural therapeutic tool to reduce stress, anxiety, focus minds, provide a sanctuary from day to day problems, improve social interaction, physical and mental health. OACAS recognises the importance of such an activity not only for those who lived in Kirkwall but the entire Orkney community. It was named Arcadia Park which represents a vision of pastoral peace, simplicity, and harmony with nature.In October 2018 the charitable group Sustrans( Scotland) provided funding for the paths around the park to be upgraded and some landscaping to be carried out which completely changed the outlook of this 6 acre area,

Just prior to the COVID pandemic of 2020 OACAS after over 40 years ceased to provide its many services. However Bob along with Paul Green a horticultural architect from Stromness decided to continue with the park and with the help from Voluntary Action Orkney formed an association.

Although the OIC fully supports the park and what it stands for it has not provided any financial assistance for the running of the park including the cost of the 10 million pound public liability insurance each year it requires the association to have.

Any money raised by Colin's Walk will help go towards the upkeep of the park, purchase seeds, bulbs, plants, fruit trees, tools, general maintenance building materials and future projects such as a polytunnel, area development and sculptures.

Thank you for supporting Colin and the park.

Bob Mackenzie and Paul Green.