On one of the shortest nights of the year, and the anniversary of my Father’s death, I will be walking and running the Avon Valley Footpath from Hengistbury Head near Christchurch to Salisbury Cathedral. A 40-mile route which I will undertake overnight Saturday 19^th June/Sunday 20^th June. With me will be my closest friend Natalie Jolley ( Ward). 

If Dad were around he would be saying, 

“what are you pair of idiots up to now?”

We aren’t proposing this as an epic endurance challenge. We aren’t seeking sponsorship for the difficult task we are undertaking as it would be a con. We have both done physically harder things and it is well within our capabilities (though we may well get lost). We aren’t setting goals or smashing records – we may even stop for a pint or two. 

This walk is about companionship and reflection, feeling grateful for the relationships and people we have known. It is also about laughter, joy and a sprinkling of silliness because that was Dad all over.  

The same time last year I sat through the night by my Father’s bed as he died, it was the most painful and humbling experience of my life. This is a way of transposing grief into something different and over-laying the memories of that night with new ones. 

Avon Valley Footpath provides a linear route through many of the way-markers of my Father’s life; places he has lived and places we went as a family, a route punctuated by memories. Many of those memories I share with Natalie too. As we walk, the places we pass through will provide opportunities to reminisce and remember the good times. This year I will see the dawn from a path, not out the window of a hospital room. 

While not primarily a fundraising challenge, we have chosen Macmillan Cancer Support as our charity for any donations. Both mine and Natalie’s families have been affected by cancer and  Macmillan Cancer Support was a charity very important to Dad and one that he supported for many years.  We will be very grateful for any donations received but most of all thank you for keeping Dad in your thoughts. 

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