An 83-year-old woman from River, known as ‘the magnificent Joy Davies’, has won an award for feeding walkers.

Joy Davies, who lives in Westdean Close with husband Eddie, won a Volunteer Award from the Long Distance Walkers Association, which was presented to her by LDWA chairman David Morgan at the association’s AGM, held in Gloucester.

Joy organizes the catering on all the Kent LDWA walking events: the Sevenoaks Circular in March, the Weald challenge in July and the White Cliffs Challenge in August. She also organized catering on last year’s Cinque Ports Hundred, a massive 100 mile hike from Hastings to Dover which attracted 447 walkers from all over the country, and beyond.

Joy, a former midwife who has two sons, three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, has been a member of the LDWA for more than 20 years. She is also a keen member of the White Cliffs Ramblers.

She loves catering on walking events and still does lots of walking herself. In the past she has walked up to 50 miles in one day, but now she prefers to walk a maximum of 15 miles.

Kent LDWA chairman Graham Smith said: “For more than ten years Joy has organised and served food at the headquarters of our group’s challenge events, sometimes working right through the night, as she did on the White Cliffs Challenge last year.

“And she shows no sign of slowing down. Last year she insisted on heading the catering team on the Cinque Ports 100, organising the checkpoint menus as well the headquarters food and, of course, serving meals throughout the event.

“So it is no surprise that in Kent LDWA she is known as the ‘magnificent Joy Davies’.”

Joy said: “I just love what I do, and I always get plenty of help from Kent LDWA members.”