Inspirational 61-year-old fundraiser, Harriet Thomas, proves you’re never too old to have an adventure as she walks solo from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Christina Collison finds out more about the reasons behind her mammoth challenge.
Harriet is a singer/songwriter from London who runs her own digital business. On 1 August she started her enormous journey walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats, camping in a tiny tent each night and interviewing people about dementia along the way.
Harriet’s journey has been documented in a new podcast The D Tour, and she has chatted to celebrities like singing legend Tony Christie who lives with dementia, as well as interviewing dementia experts. Money raised by Harriet will be added to the Dementia Adventure Support Fund, which provides life-enhancing supported breaks for people living with dementia and their carers. I spoke to her in September about her motive for taking on this huge challenge…
Tell me a bit about your mum and her diagnosis.
My mum died last year; she was diagnosed in around 2013. In hindsight, all my siblings and I realised there were signs before her diagnosis of erratic behaviour. I went on holiday with her and Dad, and that’s when I really noticed she was not remembering anything.
I had a good relationship with my mum, and she allowed me to take her to doctor. They did the brain scan, and then she got her diagnosis, and it went rapidly downhill from there. We weren’t told what kind of dementia she had. I didn’t think to ask. There needs to be much more awareness. I don’t remember anyone talking about memory cafés. That’s not a thing, certainly not where mum lived in Chichester. But again, I wouldn’t have known to ask, because I didn’t know they even existed. That was over ten years ago, so I hope things are getting better, but I fear they’re not.
What was your mum’s journey of dementia like?
She didn’t accept her diagnosis. She thought that people were getting at her. She wanted some work done in the house, which dad organised. But when the builders came in to do the work, that was massively distressing to her. She wanted to visit my sister, who lives in Canada, and she had a total breakdown there. My brother in law’s doctor prescribed some tranquilizers, to calm her and they did help. On that holiday, we had some great times. But we couldn’t leave her alone, because she would descend into a very distressed place. When we came back, she was sectioned because she was living with dad, and dad couldn’t look after her. She ended up in a family run care home. Mum was the longest resident there. She died in the care home.
What inspired you to do this charity walk?
I love walking. I walked a lot with my mum. But I was working a lot and that involved lots of sitting down. So, I was really getting backache. On my 59th birthday, I chose to have an adventure and booked myself on a five-day hike in Morocco with a group. When I came home, my back was pain-free. I felt much more peaceful about everything. This walk is an extension of that. I thought it would be amazing to explore the world on foot. So, I thought, well, let’s start in the UK, and that’s where the idea to walk from Lands End to John O’Groats came from.
Now I’ve come to Ullswater because I’ve got some work to do with Dementia Adventure. They have a holiday centre, and I’m going to meet some of their volunteers. Once I’m back on the Pennine Way, I’ve got 16 days of walking without a break. I will be doing around 15 to 16 miles a day, up to 20 miles some days.
What made you decide to raise funds for Dementia Adventure?
My friend Jodie was walking with me recently; her husband works for Dementia Adventure. When she heard that I was doing this walk, she knew that my mum had dementia, and she suggested I get in touch with him. I knew that having a bigger purpose would help me massively. My mum wasn’t a massive hiker but loved nature and often went on walks. She loved gardening and loved looking at everything in nature. When she had dementia after she had lost her language, she loved going into the garden, smelling the rosemary and finding a brightly coloured flower – those things would elicit a word. It’d be like a miracle because I hadn’t heard her speak for a while. Dementia Adventure aims to allow families living with dementia to share precious moments outside. So, I just thought, this is perfect. The holidays are supported so carers can have a break too. Everyone wins.
It’s about quality time together, isn’t it?
The carer and their loved one are enjoying time together. Even though people might say that a person with dementia may not remember that activity, I discovered that the peace that I was experiencing on my walks filtered into my whole life. It’s the same whether or not you have dementia; that peace from nature can filter into your life. Nature is something we can all enjoy.
Who have you interviewed on the way?
Tony Christie and Dr Raj. When Tony was first diagnosed, he was very open about it, and he got dropped. Everything got cancelled, and he’s had to work hard to come back from that. He’s still recording and performing.
I think his point of view is he’s still alive and still sings. And he loves singing. That’s his gift. He’ll keep doing it as long as he can. Tony loves doing cryptic crosswords, and he realised he couldn’t do them anymore, and that’s when he went to the doctor. So, he was very proactive in getting that diagnosis. A lot of people, I think, would be like, I don’t want to know, but he went to get diagnosed, so he probably got diagnosed relatively early, and he’s taking medication to slow the progress.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
There is so much good out there. We hear about the world being such a bad place, and of course, there are lots of bad things happening, but I think we must remember how much good stuff there is and how much I think people really do want to help. Most people want to contribute. I’ve been heart-warmed by the generosity of people, total strangers who give me money to put into the pot. Those little conversations with people I meet lift me massively.
What would you like people to know about Dementia Adventure and their work?
They are a charity working with families. So, it’s not just about researching dementia or Alzheimer’s, although that is incredibly important, but this is about how you live with dementia. That’s an interesting conversation I don’t think we’re having right now. And one thing I’ve taken from it is that the attitude of Dementia Adventure is living in the moment. It doesn’t matter if somebody can’t remember their activity in the moment, if they were having fun, that’s the point. We get so worried about what will happen later, today or tomorrow, that we forget to say hang on a minute. Where am I now? This is okay. This may be great.
More Information
At the time of writing, Harriet has been walking for 75 days, raised £15,159.00 in donations + £698 of gift aid, and has 15 days to go.
You can donate to Harriet’s fundraising challenge at