As many of you know, my wonderful aunt Alison died in October 2022, taken far too soon at the age of 65, following a short and brave battle with cancer. Our grieving has of course not been easy, however it would have undoubtedly been even harder had it not been for the first class end of life care given and the compassion shown by the whole team at Manorlands Hospice in Oxenhope, West Yorkshire. The team of nurses and doctors provided round the clock care for Ali and support for our family, they even let us host a champagne party in Mum's room at her request! 

Most of you were not at her memorial service however those who were, heard my uncle speak of her unwavering belief in helping others, her commitment to charitable causes, and also of her view that there was no problem that couldn’t be solved by climbing to the top of a hill - that is except for cancer of course! 

While Ali was still with us, the Fort clan put our thinking caps on as to how we might try to raise some money for Sue Ryder, (the charity that runs Manorlands). We didn’t want to pursue something with massive logistical challenges or upfront cost attached and so we thought “how about we just walk from Burnsall to Manorlands and back?!”. Please note, this will be no mean feat! With rudimentary map work, we estimate the walk to be c45miles or 73km of fairly challenging terrain - crossing the Wharfe Valley, Aire Valley and Worth Valley, three of Yorkshire’s most iconic valleys - TWICE! We will complete the walk in 24hrs leaving from the Red Lion Hotel in Burnsall on the evening of 9th June and finishing the walk the following afternoon / evening. We hope to have a team of many walkers and in addition will be grateful to other volunteers who can assist with marshalling, food stations, childcare and so on. 

Nothing we do will bring Ali back and we miss her desperately but we we couldn't speak more highly of the team of Manorlands and in her memory would like to raise as much money as possible for Sue Ryder.