Every year when I was younger, Mum and Dad would take me up to the Lake District, and every trip Dad would drive us through the Hardnott Pass. The Hardnott pass has been described as the steepest and most “outrageous” road in the UK and takes you through some of the highest mountains in England. Dad loved it though. We’d get out right at the top and, without fail, I would always run off and pretend to fall off a ledge where there was a covered step down in the rock. Every year, mum screamed and came running after me. Hilarious for child me, I imagine not so funny for her. We’d all then sit and recover from the trauma by looking out over the mountain range, at Scafell Pike opposite and down at the river Esk, far below. 

Anyway, those moments are still some of my happiest memories and it’s strange to think that those days only exist now in my mind. That the people I remember so, so clearly, sitting next to me on that mountain, can no longer remember how beautiful the river looked or how many times one of us accidentally sat in sheep poo. 

When I saw that the Alzheimer’s society were doing a sponsored trek around the Lake District, I thought it was very fitting that I should go back this summer for them and for us. 

It’s going to be hard-going and a proper challenge to get fit enough in time, but I’m sure it will be incredible. If you can spare anything, I promise to try really hard not to fall off the mountain and to keep going until the very last step of the 26th mile. 

Thank youu.

Since writing that and signing up to this trek, both our parents have passed away, making this trek even more important. It’s been a motivation to keep moving and looking forward and hopefully by raising money for the Alzheimer’s society, we can prevent more people having to go through what Mum and Dad had to go through for the last years of their life. Thank you again, to everyone who has been there for us all or who can donate something to my trek this Saturday.