It’s a long walk to…

Postman Dave Dawson, from Camden Town Delivery Office, is aiming to walk from north-west London to Tipperary in Ireland in aid of children’s cancer charity, Momentum.

On Saturday 4 April, Dave will join his two sisters, Bernadette and Andrea, brother, Mark, and best friend, Ben, walking from the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead to the border of Tipperary in Ireland to raise as much money as possible for families whose children have cancer or life-challenging conditions.

Momentum offer individually-tailored support through family support programmes, offering practical and emotional help, as well as a range of therapy services including music, dance and art. They aim to ease some of the stresses that come with such gruelling treatment plans, as well as providing trips, family experiences and respite breaks.

Dave is taking annual leave for the trip and hopes that together with his walking partners, they will cover the more than 400 miles in 11-12 days, walking almost 34 miles a day.

‘We plan to head West and follow the A40 as close as possible all the way to Fishguard on the coast of Wales,’ said Dave. ‘We’ll pass through High Wycombe, Oxford, Cheltenham, Monmouth, Brecon, Llandovery, Emlyn, Rafel Waungilwen and then the final push to Fishguard, where we’ll catch the ferry to Rosslare and head on to the border of Tipperary.’

Dave, who has been a postman for 19 years, was diagnosed and treated for acute myeloid leukemia at the Royal Free Hospital when he was 15.

‘I know first-hand how children feel when going through this kind of treatment,’ he said. ‘I’ve also had to watch how my family had to suffer throughout my time in hospital.

‘I was lucky in that I had my family and friends with me all the way through my treatment. There would be days when I wanted to just give up, because at times, I felt like it was all becoming too much for me. But deep down, I knew that wasn’t an option.

‘It's taken many years, but I wanted to give something back, so as the song goes, "It's a long way to Tipperary." We’ll see just how long it actually takes us when we get there! It's something we can all look back on in years to come and say we actually know first-hand just how far away Tipperary is!

‘Not only will this be a massive achievement, but the money will be going to a great charity, which will help those who need it most. We’ve set ourselves a target of £10k. Within a week of telling friends and family about our plan, we managed to raise just over £3,500, which we’re blown away by.

‘We hope you can all follow our journey via Instagram @its.alongwaytotipperary and Facebook and if you can, please help us reach our goal by donating via our fundraising page and sharing our story.’