STOP PRESS!  I have just completed the walk; 226 miles - unbelievably lucky with the weather, and a lot of fun!  Tricia Durston accompanied me for the whole distance, and we were joined by several others for periods ranging from a couple of hours to a whole week.

You can see some photos of the walk on my Facebook page, and in due course |I will publish an account - watch this space!

I contracted Psoriatic Arthritis in the early 1990s, while I was still in the Navy.  Those of you who have known me for that long will remember the devastating effects it can have; going up and down stairs on my bum, walking with sticks or worse, putting on 4 stone...    Over the years my outstanding medical advisors tried all sorts of stuff - Vioxx (until it was withdrawn...), Sulfasalazine (until it didn't work), Diclofenac, the dreaded Methotrexate...  They all kind of helped, but not that much; alleviating symptoms at best, but not really giving me my life back.

But then in Spring 2008 I started Etanercept.  From over 50 pills a week to a single virtually painless injection - and a total transformation (how else do you think I could contemplate walking 226 miles?).

These drugs are amazing, but they're also very expensive, and they're still not a cure.  I'm well aware that I am one of the lucky ones; my life has been given back to me, but I still have the disease.  I want to make sure that other people with arthritis as bad as mine, or worse (and you should see some of the young children at the clinics I go to...) get the same chances as me, and more.

Hence the walk; I walked from Salisbury to Canterbury, via Winchester, Farnham, onto the North Downs Way, Reigate, Rochester, Maidstone, Dover and then back up to Canterbury.  226 miles, taking 16 days; starting at Salisbury Cathedral on Sunday 3 May & finishing at Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday 20 May.  

Thank you so much, everyone, for your extraordinary generosity.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Arthritis Research Campaign gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

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