Watch: The Welsh lady walking across the UK to raise money for charity
Carys Jones / Georgia Ferda (Video by Jack Skinner)
A woman from Wales is raising money and celebrating her heritage by walking the length and breadth of the UK dressed as a Welsh lady.
60 year old Blodwen Morgan plans to take part in multiple charity treks this summer whilst dressed head to toe in traditional Welsh costume in a celebration of Wales’s culture.
Standing in the grounds of Cardiff Castle, Blodwen said: “All nations are fantastic, many colours make the rainbow and it’s just lovely to be Welsh.”
Pride
She will take on a host of fundraising walks including the Lake District Walk for Cancer research, the Norfolk walk for Macmillan, a walk from Swansea to Cardiff in aid of Welsh Women’s Aid, the Thames Moonlight walk in London for the RSPCA and the St Davids to Cardigan walk for Ty Hafan.
Recently retired, Blodwen, who’s originally from Llandovery, moved to Cardiff to be near her sons and whilst exploring tourist locations like Cardiff Castle and the St Fagans National Museum of History she was shocked to see that no one was wearing traditional Welsh clothing.
She said: “When you go up to Scotland they don’t need an excuse to wear a kilt. And if you go to London you might see a few Beefeaters and Chelsea Pensioners.
“I think wearing the costume is important to bring awareness of the Welsh heritage.
“We wear it on St David’s day or when you’re little in primary school. Apart from that, unless it’s an international we don’t really wear it. I think it would be lovely to just wear it whenever you want to.”
She said: “In primary school wearing the outfit was really good fun, but then you get to high school and it becomes very uncool.
“It gives you a sense of belonging. It’s a nod to the struggles and history of the past. It shows respect and acknowledgement that Welsh traditions can go forward to the future.
“It’s something we should be proud of, not embarrassed about.”
Blodwen will be setting off in May aiming to raise at least £250 each for five charities and she’s even planned for hot weather with a cotton version of the woollen costume to keep her cool.
She said: “My goal is to encourage others to dress up, even men. They wore it in the Rebecca Riots. They were quite happy to wear costumes then, so they’re not excluded!”
You can donate by visiting welshwomanwalking.co.uk
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Imagine all of the Senedd members dressed up in national costume next year. Is that the reason why the First Minister escapes the country on St David’s Day?
Good for Blodwen! As Yes Cymru was suggesting in one of their blogs recently, we are Cymry and should celebrate the country in which we live whether we speak the language or not. That includes traditional dress too, though I don’t recall an equivalent for blokes (my ignorance!). Doing it more often (wearing traditional dress that is) will helpt to annoy the Colonialists who hate it when the Natives show restlessness.