As many of you will know, in 2018, we sadly lost the matriarch of our family, our wonderful Grandma, Nell, to encephalitis. Encephalitis is an infection of the brain caused by an infection or through the immune system attacking the brain in error - an illness none of our family knew much about and did not know the signs to look for.

Today, on what would have been our Grandma’s birthday, Joel, Stephen and Olivia would like to share that in her memory, and to raise awareness and funds for The Encephalitis Society, we will be taking on the challenge of walking the Liverpool to Leeds Canal over the first weekend in May 2023 - 127 miles over 4 days, 32.5 miles a day.

The Encephalitis Society was a huge support to our family following Grandma’s diagnosis, they do incredible work to support patients and their families with encephalitis and, where possible, to support them through recovery back to living a full and healthy life. Vitally, the charity work to raise awareness of encephalitis, the symptoms to look for, and fund important research into the causes, the infection, and treatments.

If you are able to, we would be very grateful for any donations through our just giving page:


If you are unable to donate, we understand, but do urge you to take the time to understand the key symptoms to look for, encephalitis does not discriminate, it can affect anyone of any age.