Sue Ryder is here to make sure everyone approaching the end of their life or living with grief can access the support they need. There is no one size fits all when it comes to how we cope and the help we need, but with Sue Ryder's support, no one has to face dying or grief alone. They are there when it matters.

I would like to open this with an explanation of why I am undertaking this walk. I am, as the title explains, doing it “for the love of Anna” and to raise £20,000 for the wonderful Sue Ryder Hospice in Leckhampton.

I have spent the last 45 years with my beautiful wife Anna and approaching retirement we were looking forward to the next 20 plus years together. All that was ripped away from us by cancer.

Anna had been complaining of stomach pain in October 2024 and after a few weeks of looking at different things had a scan in mid November at Cheltenham Hospital. We were told she had a mass on her pancreas, a biopsy followed and our worst fears were realised and it was confirmed that it was pancreatic cancer. 

In December Anna was already in quite considerable pain and so she spent a couple of weeks at Sue Ryder trying to manage the pain and prepare her for Chemotherapy. We spent Christmas in Manchester with our son Max, and pregnant daughter Alex and her partner Howard. Anna returned to Sue Ryder in early January and from there went to Cheltenham for her first Chemotherapy treatment. It was to be her only one as sadly it transpired that her cancer was very aggressive. 

Alex, Max and I spent two weeks with Anna in Sue Ryder, the last week I slept there, holding Anna’s hand throughout the night. We were all with her when she passed away on January 30, just two months from diagnosis.

The care she received at Sue Ryder was truly wonderful and all the staff, the volunteers, cleaners, caterers, nurses and doctors were so caring it was extraordinary. My children and I could never find the words to express our gratitude.

Sue Ryder relies on charitable donations and so to truly thank them I am undertaking the South West Coast Path walk, which is 630 miles and the gradient is equivalent to climbing Mount Everest 4 times! I will start on May 31, which is when I qualify for my pension, and will walk the entire length in 31 days finishing on my daughter's birthday June 30.