My father sadly passed away in January 2022 after a long-fought and arduous battle with illness, further complicated by alcoholism. In response to this and to honour him, I will continue to raise awareness of alcohol misuse, its effects on mental and physical health and how it can be combated.

To do this I’m organising a hike around the Upper Taff Basin – a route traversing several mountains of the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales. Many charities are working extremely hard in changing the narrative around this subject through minimising the ‘man up’ stigma that is prevalent in the space, preventing people (men in particular) from seeking and accepting the help they desperately need.

My father and our family were fortunate enough to receive help from this amazing charity, and it is this charity that this hike will be in aid of: Nacoa UK. They do some amazing work in helping people overcome addiction and also helping the families of those affected by someone who suffers with addiction, especially children. It has been a great resource for me and my family to ease our way through this painful process of grief and to also hear so many stories from other people in similar positions to be able to relate to and not feel isolated. The link to their website should be on this page for you to check them out if you wish.

The hike will take place on Saturday 24th January 2026, commencing at 7:00am from Nantgwyddon Road (Old Tip Entrance) by New Road Garage. We will Hike up through Bwllfa Farm, up onto the Bwlch mountain and make our way around Treherbert basin to finally reach Dai’s memorial at the top of Pen Pych viewpoint. We will be heading back to the pengelli pub in Treorchy for some food and drinks afterwards. The hike will be approximately 20km in total (12 miles) and anyone wishing to join for part, or all the hike is more than welcome to do so.