When my friend, Michele, first asked me to join her on a
trek I thought “midlife crisis” – trekking the distance equivalent to +60km along the Great Wall of China just 3 days after I turn 40 – so obviously a classic symptom of the cliché!

But there are other clichés that are also true – as a mother, wife, daughter, sister I realise how precious life is and how devastating and earth shattering a bereavement can be. As I enter my forties (gulp) I realise there is a big wide world out there and I have been very lucky to live in this forward-thinking, modern country with loving family and friends around me to support me.

So – another cliché, I am joining Grief Encounter on this trek to give something back to the wider community I live in and also to be able to explore a part of the world I would not otherwise have an opportunity
to see.

I will be hiking for 5 days, between 4- 8 hours a day, covering approximately 12km each day. Walking along this Wonder of the World is no mean feat either as it is designed to be physically challenging; some parts of the Great Wall are steep steps and others uneven pathways. We will encounter guard towers, beacon towers, stairways and bridges, whilst walking through the Black Dragon National Park and the famous ‘Stairway To Heaven’. 

The trek starts 4 hours north of Beijing and will involve vigorous climbs of over 10,000 steps over the 5 days, sometimes walking alongside sheer drops along winding paths along the mountains that spread either side of the Gubeikou Gateway.

1 in 29 children in the UK under the age of 16 will suffer the death of a parent. Grief Encounter supports these children and their families through helplines, counselling and ongoing support for as long as they

need it. Grief Encounter is funded entirely through charitable donations and fundraising.

I am leaving my family (my amazing husband Darren and my three children Katie, Talia and Joseph) for 10 days – something  I have never done before, to support Grief Encounter in their work with grieving children and their families whom this inspiring and worthwhile charity comfort through the most darkest and saddest of times.

Please help me and my fellow trekkers make a real difference to these children and their families – whatever you can give really does count.

Thank you, Lisa xxx

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