Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page which I am dedicating to the memory of my two sisters Avril and Marjory, both of whom were taken at an age much too early and very much missed, I know they will be walking with me.

The Children's Trust is a wonderful organisation, located less than a mile from where we live, it started out life in the 1920's as a rural branch of Great Ormond Street Hospital, looking after children with the scourge diseases of that time such as tuberculosis, rheumatic fever and cystic fibrosis. Facing closure in a period of NHS cuts in the 80's, our family's involvement with what was Tadworth Court dates back to then. A massive national campaign was launched and by March 1984 sufficient cash had been found to stave off the threat of closure and the rest, as they say, is history.

Renamed the The Children's trust in 1994, TCT is now recognised to be at the forefront of the treatment and rehabilitation of profoundly disabled children, usually as the result of an acquired brain injury. As well as being the UK's largest paediatric brain injury rehabilitation centre, the teams of therapists, carers and medical professionals strive to ensure that every child can learn the skills that they will need to manage their lives and reach their maximum potential.

Jane has been very involved in fundraising activities for the Trust since the birth of our son Cameron in 1997 and although I generally only have some minor support tasks to perform, my Kili climb in 2012 and this latest adventure are opportunities for me to take a more active role in fundraising.

Having decided to accept the challenge in early May, I've upped my regular training, with increased visits to the gym and a lot of fast trekking on Box Hill and the surrounding Downs. My permanent walking partner Lucas the retriever is a tremendous and willing support as is our daughter Isobel, very good friend and fellow trekker Karen Hodges and most recently my soon to be climbing partner Nick Budd. If anyone out there wants to join in on the programme, there are some rather nice hostelries tucked away along some of our routes, and Lucas will be happy if you bring along a four legged partner.

A massive thanks to my beautiful and totally supportive wife Jane who after 25 years of marriage (September 7th) approaches each of my objectives and schemes with that stoic acceptance reserved for people who are either quite mad or at least well on the way to needing substantial assistance. All in all such endeavours cannot be achieved alone, as the programme gathers pace I will introduce the people who will be with me on this latest adventure and with the help of Linda my PA and Kirsty who works wonders with electronic things, I hope to be able to keep you posted with progress as the trek gets underway. If it’s not progress, News at 10 usually provides good coverage of human interest stories that don’t quite work out.

Thanks for visiting and an even bigger thanks if you’ve had the chance to hit Donate.