Why a grandfather is walking 800km across France at 70

Most people celebrate turning 70 with a dinner, a family gathering or perhaps a well-earned holiday, but Brisbane grandfather David Overell has chosen a different path. Quite literally.

Next Wednesday (June 3), Overell sets off on an 800-kilometre trek across France, following the ancient GR65 pilgrimage route from Le Puy-en-Velay towards the Spanish border. The journey will take 46 days, cross some of the country’s most picturesque countryside and culminate in a crossing of the Pyrenees.

It is an ambitious challenge at any age but at 70, it raises an obvious question.

Why?

For Overell, it’s about embracing adventure while he still can, celebrating family and giving something back along the way. It’s not about chasing records or proving a point.

“It was almost two years ago when Megan and I were walking along the Rhine,” he said. “That was the longest walk we’d done and, as we were going along, I started thinking about turning 70 in a couple of years’ time and how I might celebrate it.”

What began as an idea gradually grew into a plan, then it became something much bigger.

More than a birthday

The walk comes during a milestone year for the Overell family.

David and his wife Megan celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in December, while all three of their adult children have committed to joining sections of the journey. For a family spread across Australia and the United States, that commitment meant a great deal.

“I was pretty chuffed,” Overell said.

“They’ve got families, businesses and jobs to manage, so it isn’t easy. But all three of them said yes almost immediately.”

He believes the shared experience may prove just as valuable as reaching the final destination.

“It may well be the last opportunity as a family that we have to spend time together without grandkids running around and all the other distractions. It’s hard to have an adult conversation when you’ve got little kids everywhere.”

Megan will join him for the opening fortnight before he continues on alone. After five decades together, Overell has no doubts about her willingness to embrace another adventure.

“She’s a gutsy bird,” he said with a laugh. “The more out-there the challenge, the more she’s up for it.”

The couple backpacked through Asia for more than a year in their twenties and have shared countless adventures since.

“With Megan it’s never really been, ‘Do we need to do this?’ It’s usually, ‘Yeah, let’s go.'”

Looking ahead, not slowing down

Like many Australians entering their 70s, Overell is conscious that life doesn’t stretch endlessly into the future, as he has watched friends face serious health challenges while others have passed away.

“I think there’s a certain sense of mortality,” he reflected. “There’s a general sense that you’re closer to the end than the beginning.”

Yet rather than discouraging him, that reality has sharpened his focus on staying active. One piece of advice he encountered several years ago has stayed with him.

“The best way to think about looking after yourself is to imagine the person you want to be in the last decade of your life,” he said.

“If you want to be able to pick up your grandchildren, if you want to stay active, if you want to be able to get out of a chair without needing assistance, then you need to work backwards and think about what you should be doing now.”

For Overell, that means staying active through golf, tennis, gym sessions and regular walking.

Preparing for France hasn’t required a complete lifestyle overhaul. It has simply meant adding more kilometres to the legs.

Walking for a cause

While the journey began as a personal challenge, Overell decided it could also support a cause close to his heart.

Since 2015, he has volunteered with Zephyr Education, an Australian charity that provides school uniforms, shoes, bags, stationery and laptops to children living in domestic violence shelters. The organisation now supports hundreds of services across Australia.

What first attracted him was its simplicity.

“It was a bloody good cause,” he said. “No-one else seemed to be addressing that particular need.”

He was also impressed that the charity is largely volunteer-driven, ensuring donations flow directly to helping children rather than administration. His goal is to raise more than $50,000 through the walk.

At the time of departure, donations had already passed $20,000.

One step at a time

For all the planning, Overell knows the coming weeks will bring surprises, among them the weather (not so much the distance). Forecasts have suggested temperatures could climb well above seasonal averages during the opening stages of the walk.

“Walking in 34 degrees is hard work,” he said.

Still, he remains philosophical, and much of the final month will be spent walking alone. Whether that leads to self-discovery or simply a greater appreciation for solitude remains to be seen.

“I guess I’ll find out,” he said.

What he does know is that age should never be the reason people stop pursuing meaningful experiences.

“If you’re up for it, there’s no way in the world you’re too old,” he said. “If you look after yourself and you’re willing to have a go, there’s nothing to stop you doing anything you like, really.”

Readers wishing to follow David’s journey or support his fundraising efforts can visit his website here.