On Saturday 25th of February, lots of people are all going on a walk on the same day. It's called The Together Walk and it will raise funds for our Super Rare Campaign, and awareness about rare bone marrow conditions. The date coincides with Rare Disease Day, later in the week.

I'm the Interim CEO of The Aplastic Anaemia Trust, so I'm joining in and organising a walk in Walthamstow, East London. 

Join me for bird spotting, local beers and fun times.  

RSVP
I'll be providing food so if you would like to come on the walk please let me know here: https://forms.gle/YyGmwr1wegrR5ga97

(Sorry you have to copy and paste this link because Just Giving won't let me make it a link.)

You can also contact me with questions via phone / WhatsApp (07956237939) or email (edawes@theaat.org.uk). 

How far is the walk?
The walk is in two halves, and you can choose to either complete the full walk (7.8 miles/12.6km) with a lunchbreak in the middle, or choose to do either the first or second half. 

Where will we go?
The first half of the walk is 3 miles / 7.8km. We meet at Blackhorse Road Tube station at 11.15am, then walk a circuit of the Walthamstow Wetlands. 

We will arrive at Beerblefish Taproom at around 12.30pm, where we will meet any second-half walkers. Dogs are not allowed in the Wetlands, so dog walkers will meet at Beerblefish from 12.30, and join the second half of the walk.

After lunch we will set out on the second half of the walk (about 1.30pm), heading up the River Lee, across Tottenham Marshes, and North, to the edge of the William Girling reservoir, and back again to Beerblefish - to be reunited with any first half walkers who opted to stick around (estimated return time around 3pm).

Can I bring kids?
Yes of course! If you'd like a shorter walk, you can choose to join us for either half of the walk, the first half is a bit shorter and may contain slightly more ducks (although there should be ducks all the way.) 

After the walk
We will finish the walk at Beerblefish where there is a free pool table, an excellent selection of board games. If you're skipping either half of the walk, or sticking around for longer, you could hang out here for some extra time (open from midday) or wander around some of the other tap rooms on the Blackhorse Beer Mile (blackhorsebeermile.co.uk). 

How to get here
The best way is to arrive at Blackhorse Road station which is on the Overground and Victoria lines. If for some reason you need to arrive in a car it's likely you can park on our street, please let me know.

Is the walk wheelchair accessible?
I believe that the first half of the walk is wheelchair friendly, but please let me know if you'd like to come in a chair and I can double check and amend the route where necessary. 


It's a CHARITY walk, guys
If you come on the walk I will expect you to make a financial contribution to The Aplastic Anaemia Trust, or to one of our fellow Super Rare charities. You can do this by:

• Donating on this Just Giving page*
• Giving me some cash on the day
• Creating your own fundraising page and ask your friends and family to donate to The Aplastic Anaemia Trust: https://www.justgiving.com/team/walthamstow-walk
• Or choose to fundraise for or donate to a different Super Rare charity at super-rare.org

*I want to claim Gift Aid on your donations so legally this is not a walk ticket it is a voluntary donation and you CAN come on the walk without donating or fundraising. But if you do that the quail WILL judge you. 

Why should I support this charity anyway?
Managing our small but mighty team at The Aplastic Anaemia Trust is an almighty privilege. This year we're partnering with a group of even smaller charities supporting people with even rarer similar conditions.

Having a rare, serious condition like aplastic anaemia is in lots of ways very similar to having a condition like cancer. The severity, impact on your life, and gruelling treatment is often much the same. Like leukaemia, aplastic anaemia can affect anyone but is often diagnosed in very young children.

But with a rare condition, there isn't this almighty machine of huge, well funded charities there to support you and fund research to improve your chances. It's just charities like us.

Little guys, founded by people with experience of the condition, learning as they go, finding ways to deliver everything from medical information, psychological support, bereavement counselling, help with applying for benefits, lobbying decision makers, campaigning for access to drugs, funding research, translating medical advice, picking up the phone. 

I'm inspired every day by what we and our partner charities achieve with such limited resources by being brave and strategic and (occasionally) scrappy! We really do help people to feel rare, but not alone. And we can't do it without your donations.

Find out more about the campaign at super-rare.org