Slab Artisan Fudge got a surprise when a customer announced she had walked all the way from Leeds to visit the Slab shop in Bath Road, Cowes.

Agata Szczepaniuk, originally from Poland but living in Leeds, told Slab’s owner Rachel Powell that she had bought some vegan Slab Fudge from a shop in Leeds and was amazed to find that such a tasty vegan fudge existed.  

Agata said “I did some research and found out Slab were based on the Isle of Wight, and that a shop existed too where all the fudge was made.  I decided why not go and visit?  And then I had a crazy thought.  Since lockdown had made a big chunk of 2020 very boring for me, and I had been stuck at home a lot, I thought why not do something that I will never forget?  So right then and there I decided to walk all the way from Leeds to the Southampton ferry terminal, catch the ferry to the Isle of Wight and visit Slab!”

Agata ordered a parcel of vegan fudge to be delivered to keep her going on her “pilgrimage”. On 23rd August she departed her home in Leeds on foot and commenced the 221 mile walk.  

Agata walked for 11 days in total, staying overnight in B&B’s along the way. Her first stop was near Sheffield, then she walked through the Peak District to Chesterfield, through Derby, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Coventry, Banbury, Oxford, Newbury, Winchester and finally Southampton, where Agata stayed overnight before walking the final 3 miles to the ferry, which was her first mode of transport. 

“Sometimes it wasn’t easy – I walked twice through rainy days and got several painful blisters!  But I like to push myself and I loved knowing I didn’t give up, even when I considered it.  It took me 11 days of walking 10-12 hours a day, but I met lots of lovely people and had fun wearing different outfits every day.  Twice I posted home my dirty clothes and purchased new ones from charity shops.”  Her travels and mileage were recorded on her Instagram account @misssolidunplan.

“I was so happy when I got there and could visit the place which had inspired my journey.  I was entranced and so excited when I got to Slab.  Thank you Slab for inspiring me to have such a crazy goal which I was able to achieve! I am so proud of myself and now I’m back in Leeds with lots of vegan fudge and some great memories.”

Rachel has been making fudge for 6 years, and 2 years ago set herself the challenge of creating a vegan fudge that tasted as good as dairy.  “It took a while to get it right” Rachel said.  “I knew I was there when I was taking home vegan Slabs to eat instead of dairy!”