Hi everyone, your support means the world! Along with my husband Martin, who will my chief navigator, guide and support along the way during this event, we hope to raise as much money as possible for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of my Dad, Jim O'Shaughnessy who sadly passed away in December 2021 from Mesothelioma, caused by asbestosis. 

My Dad was an inspiration to me, at age 86 he was still raising money for those less fortunate than himself, with a sleepout for the homeless! Dad lived a simple life, but was kind and generous to a fault. On his 'bucket list' for last year would have been a trip to Winchester Cathedral. (We chose a place to visit every year around his birthday in June) Sadly, it was not to be. 

I thought about visiting Winchester Cathedral in his honour, which then developed into an idea of walking the old Pilgrims Way from Winchester to Canterbury. Martin and I love to walk ancient routes so we combined that idea, with doing it for Dad in his memory and raising much needed money for this charity, which I know he would thoroughly approve of. Cancer has affected so many people in my life, close friends who are battling cancer now, friends and work colleagues who have lost loved ones to cancer, we do this for all those affected by cancer and for their families. Macmillan offer so much support and advice, so vital during these very difficult times. 

Starting our walk on Monday 31st July we are travelling approximately 220km on foot along the Pilgrims Way in stages each day, hoping to finish the last stage on Saturday 12th August. Documenting our progress along the way, we aim to keep you all updated of how we are doing, where we are and note anything of interest through photos, posts and hopefully some video too via this page and via Facebook (tba)

Lastly, thanks for reading this story. Your support means so much. Thank you!