I aim to walk a mile for every year of my father’s life - that’s 89 miles over 6 consecutive days - connecting places in which he lived, loved, laughed, and ultimately died, weaving up through rural Staffordshire and the Derbyshire Peak District, following memories and stories told, before Vascular Dementia took its toll.  

With an unpredictable knee and back problem and a flawed sense of which way up the map goes, I really will be challenging myself to the limit, but I am determined. My father Douglas would say “best foot forward, Anna”, so I shall remember this - provided, of course, that I have one foot that is still moving.........

The Alzheimer’s Society is developing a service called ‘Side by Side’ which links people living with dementia to volunteers who help them to keep doing the things they love - particularly helpful if there are no relatives or friends at hand. I would love to see this service spread into Staffordshire and Derbyshire.

My father particularly loved being out in the countryside - in all weathers, even in his wheelchair .So, my hope is that any funds I raise will help people like him to continue to enjoy the benefits of the wonderful outdoors, where lost memories don’t matter, for the distractions of the ‘here and now’ are just too great.