Every day 250 people across the UK discover they have some form of sight loss. I remember the day I found out in May 2017, sitting across from the doctor in his office as he relayed the news that I had the untreatable and degenerative macular condition, Cone Dystrophy. This day should have changed my life but, to be honest, it made no difference at that time. I could still watch TV, drive and read and so things carried on regardless – After all, it took 37 years for it to become visible to the professionals so what’s to say it won’t be another 37 before it has any impact on my daily life? How wrong I was! 5 years later and I am registered blind, am no longer able to read a book, have to watch TV with audio description and cannot use the train without support from the railway assistance teams.

Walking has always been a means of relaxation for me but it is now also my primary mode of transport. Things have become harder as I lose more sight and am now reliant on my white cane mobility aids, Tim, Mike and Hank or the arm of a family member or friend. I’ve walked some long distances over the years – most notable being in 2020 when, over the course of a few months I travelled the 215km along the River Thames from Oxford to the Thames Barrier in East London (this included the 2 day 100km Thames Path Challenge), but this is my biggest challenge so far as I attempt to walk 250km in a week along the stunning Pembrokeshire coastline.

Using a combination of sighted guiding, my long white canes and possibly even some free walking, friends and family will be joining me on this adventure to try to raise as much money as possible for Berkshire Vision.

As a small local charity, they rely on fundraising and donations to provide a wide range of services to nearly 1000 people living with sight loss in Berkshire.

To see how the planning and training is going, head over to my Instagram @Blind_man_with_a_backpack or Facebook @blindmanwithabackpack or follow me on Twitter @blind_backpack You can also read about my sight loss journey at www.blindmanwithabackpack.uk