13th June 2023

More than 200 people joined Alzheimer's Support's annual memory walks at the weekend - and the event is on course to smash through its £10,000 fundraising target.

The Wiltshire charity ran three walks on Saturday, including a new route starting and finishing at Bowood House near Calne at the invitation of Lady Lansdowne, who is one of the charity's patrons.

Head of Fundraising Stephany Bardzil said: "We would like to thank all our walkers, especially on such a hot day, and to thank everyone who sponsored them. Every penny raised in A Walk to Remember goes to support people affected by dementia in Wiltshire and it is so needed. 

"We couldn't do this without so many of our staff volunteering their time to help out. It was wonderful to see everyone pulling together to make this such a fantastic event. We also had so much support from Warminster Lions who marshalled for the Warminster walks, and to Wiltshire Walkers and everyone at Bowood who worked so hard to make the day a success."

Walking for a reason

The Jackson family from Westbury have walked since 2018. Phil Jackson said: "We love doing it. We walk in memory of my wife's mother who had dementia and we always paint our faces with a forget-me-not while we take part. It is a family tradition now."

Another family group, pictured right, included Sue Harper, who was instrumental in setting up the first A Walk to Remember in 2015, and walked this year with her daughter and grandaughter.

She said: "I didn't know it was still going, then saw a poster and thought I must do that! I'm so glad I did. It's been a lovely day."

Jaqui Sleeman, who lives with dementia, was walking for the second year in a row with her support worker Layla. The pair took on the challenging Battlesbury Hill walk near Warminster in 2022 and this year walked the new Bowood route - with Layla in fancy dress along with a number of the charity's home support workers. They were walking to raise funds specifically for an outing to the beach for their clients later in the year. 

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