For two weeks this August, Ed Jackson and I are challenging ourselves to walk the Coast to Coast path.   It’ll take us about 12 days to walk the 190 miles from St Bees in Cumbria, across the fells and moors to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire.  Some of the walking is flat, some hilly and some is ‘off-road’. 

We’re doing this because we are slightly mad but mainly because we want to raise money for a cause that is very dear to us both.  Many of you will know Olly Scholes, my friends’ son and Ed’s nephew, who died suddenly aged two and a bit in 2012 of Haemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis.  It’s a long and technically-named illness, but in a nutshell, Olly’s body worked too hard to fight the infection it had and caused too much damage to itself.

We want to fundraise to support Histiocytosis UK which is dedicated to promoting and funding scientific research into uncovering not only the causes of the histiocytosis diseases, Langerhans' Cell Histiocytosis and Haemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis, but also ensuring early diagnosis, effective treatment and a cure.  There’s a lot to learn about this illness and research is critical in this.

We want to give families the chance to be families, enjoying their precious time together and to give them the time and chances that others can take for granted.

So we would like you to support us by giving us some money.  It doesn’t matter if it is the coppers from your purse or pocket, the money you’d buy a pint with on a night out or something more.  It all counts and it will all be gratefully received.  If you don’t do ‘online’, we’re happy to collect!

Thanks in advance for your support. We know that lots of you have already supported events to raise money in memory of Olly, but every little bit you can spare will make a difference.