While most Londoners woke up to the record four inches of snow Feb. 2 and promptly took the day off to make snowmen, Peter Cartwright put on his green Wellington boots and an extra coat and set off to work. Usually, his journey from his home in Ashford, Kent (southeast of London), to his job as a radiographer at Guy’s Hospital in London takes him an hour and a half. On Feb. 2, it took him eight and a half hours –- and he walked some 18 miles of it, no thanks to the transport chaos that crippled the country during the heaviest snowfall in 18 years.
“It was quite a challenge,” said Cartwright, 53, with what colleagues say is typical understatement. “But I enjoy walking. I do a lot of long-distance walking, so my body is used to it. And I felt I needed to make the effort. I didn’t want to let anyone down.”
Cartwright left his home at 5:30 a.m., intending to catch his usual train from Ashford to London Bridge, a 55-mile trip. But the weather prevented the train from traveling any further than Maidstone, 20 miles away. Cartwright –- who has worked at Guy’s Hospital for 20 years — was undeterred. He walked nearly 11 miles along the A20 highway to Borough Green, a village that dates to the 16th century, and stopped to refuel with a bacon-stuffed buttered roll at a local café. There he was offered –- and accepted -– a ride to a commuter town called Swanley, where he then walked another five miles to Eltham in Southeast London, staying warm thanks to his brisk pace. “I was actually hot,” Cartwright said.
In Eltham, a “kind chap,” (as Cartwright called him), gave him a ride to Rotherhithe, just south of the Thames River. He walked about another mile to Bermondsey Underground Station, where he caught the train one stop to London Bridge. Arrival time at the hospital: 2 p.m. “It would have taken much longer without the kindness of people around,” Cartwright said.
Said Stuart Glenister, the hospital’s head of nursing: “We didn’t realize what sort of journey he’d had at the time. We’re just very pleased that he managed to get here.” Cartwright, a married father of four, then proceeded to spend three nights sleeping at the hospital so he wouldn’t miss any shifts — or need any more epic journeys to get him there. (The hospital has accommodation for families of patients.)
His reward for his efforts: Praise from the hospital’s chief executive and fame around the hospital (people clap and cheer when he walks by), but alas, no bonus. Hospital execs say that’s because, although what Cartwright did was extraordinary, many others at the hospital went above and beyond. “Many night staff remained on duty on Monday morning until others arrived, and staff worked flexibly to cover the areas where they were needed most,” said Dr. Ted Baker, the hospital’s medical director. Said Cartwright of his journey: “It was the right thing to do.”