Category: Challenge Series

Bon voyage to brothers Tom and George Bentham who take the plunge on their coast-to-coast canoe challenge on Monday (Sept 12).

The pair have spent six months preparing for their gruelling 184-mile paddle in memory of their late father Mark, a keen sailor.

The Bentham brothers are hoping to raise £15,000 for East Cheshire Hospice and Macmillan which cared for Mark, from Broken Cross, who died of cancer in September 2019, aged 58.

Tom (left) and George Bentham who are canoeing across the country.

Neither had even sat in a canoe until they launched their ambitious Canoe Against Cancer challenge which saw them buy a second-hand vessel.

Their nine-day adventure starts at Glasson Dock, near Lancaster, where their dad learned to sail as a boy. He became a chef, cooking on private yachts around the world.

The itinerary includes Preston, Burscough, Manchester, Rochdale, Halifax, Wakefield and into the Humber.

A complex route involves four tidal rivers, canals, bridges, tunnels and aqueducts.

Tom, from South Park, Macclesfield, said: “Our training’s gone well and we’re up to doing the distance.

“We’ve had a few emotional training days learning about battling currents and head winds. I broke a paddle but manufacturers Bending Branches, who’d already donated two new ones, kindly sent a replacement.

“A tandem canoe needs synergy to balance up power and steering. We swap over in the front and back every 90 minutes.

“The front is effectively the engine and needs to put in a steady stroke rate, while the back does the steering.

“We’ve put in countless hours and miles of practice training on local canals and two blokes in a canoe in all weathers do draw attention.

“Lots of people have stopped for a chat, including two ladies last weekend who donated to the Hospice.

“It’s been nice hearing other stories about how the Hospice has been important for their loved ones and the feeling of community hospices create.

“It shows just how well-loved and how valued the Hospice is within the community and why it’s so important to make sure it’s there for everyone else when, or if, they need it.

“The hardest thing is going to be keeping up momentum day after day as fatigue builds up. We’ll be paddling for eight to nine hours each day, covering 22 miles on average.”

*  To sponsor the brothers email canoeagainstcancer@gmail.com or visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cacec.

Mortgage adviser Alison Darby will never forget how East Cheshire Hospice helped her family shortly after it opened in 1988.

Her auntie Jeanne Gleave, from Prestbury, was one of the charity’s first patients and died of breast cancer, aged 51.

So when Alison heard about Tom and George Bentham’s canoe challenge she decided to sponsor them through her company Alpha Mortgages.

Tom Bentham with Alison Darby, sponsor of a canoe challenge.  

Alison, from Adlington, said: “I’ve got a special place in my heart for the Hospice which was new and quite tiny when my auntie was there.

“I go walking by Macclesfield Canal and my mum’s from Morecambe, near the start of their canoe trip. I’ve also had family members affected by cancer, so it rang a lot of bells for me.

“I had to sponsor the brothers and am proud to do so, even though I don’t know them. Good on them for doing this challenge.

“I lost a parent myself and to have some good come out of it and do something in their honour is great. I know how proud their father would be. He obviously lives on in them.”

Alpha Mortgages is a corporate supporter for the Hospice, with Alison undertaking fundraising activities for several charities.

Other sponsors of the canoe adventure are Card Industry Professionals, Pacific West, MHM Pensions and Renforth and Goddard.

* An afternoon tea will be held at Hollin House Hotel, Bollington, on Sunday, Oct 2, to mark the end of the trip. For more details contact Hannah Bentham on 07964 701027.

A famous pilgrimage through the hilly landscapes of Galicia in northern Spain is the latest event organised for East Cheshire Hospice supporters.

The five-day Camino Way trek explores cultural and historic landmarks before ending at Santiago de Compostela.

The 115-kilometre walk from Oct 14-21 next year covers the eighth and final section of the French Way, the most traditional and best known of pilgrim routes.

Hospice Challenge Events Co-ordinator Bethan Wade said: “Thousands of people, known as ‘pilgrims’, walk the Camino for spiritual, cultural and adventurous reasons.

Destination Camino Way for supporters of East Cheshire Hospice.

“This is not a religious tour. The Camino is about the journey and to most it symbolises a time of reflection, learning and fresh starts.

“We’re hoping our supporters can join us for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The trek is graded moderate to challenging, covering long distances in varying weather conditions.

“It’s essential walkers are fit enough to trek for at least seven to eight hours at a time for multiple consecutive days. They’ll stay in basic hotels and guesthouses.

“Regular breaks are taken, but long days of walking, sometimes uphill, are inevitable. You can’t be too fit for this challenge so you should train well before your departure.”

A £355 registration fee is payable upon booking, with participants asked to fundraise at least £2,600 for the Hospice. Support and fundraising ideas will be provided.

A self-funded option is also available. Visit eastcheshirehospice.org.uk/events/trek-2023/ or contact  Bethan on 01625 789102; email bwade@echospice.org.uk.

The family of Linda Tute believe she lived longer because of the care she received from East Cheshire Hospice.

Husband Martin and their three daughters feared the worst when Linda, who had oesophageal cancer, was admitted to the Hospice just before Christmas in 2016.

She went into hospital after her condition had deteriorated and was quickly transferred to the Hospice as an inpatient.

Linda, from Bollington, was given only hours, or at most days, to live.

Linda Tute who was cared for by East Cheshire Hospice.  

Eight weeks later she eventually went home where she lived for almost two years before passing away in September 2018, aged 75.

Daughter Kerry said: “The whole family honestly believe that because of the Hospice’s care at that critical time we had almost another two years with mum.

“We genuinely believe they gifted us those 22 months that we never expected.

“It was just their attention to detail. She wouldn’t have received that level of care if she’d been in hospital, or had been discharged to be looked after at home.

“Don’t get me wrong they were a turbulent 22 months to say the least in terms of her illness, but we made it a beautiful family time for her.”

Linda was a hairdresser many years ago and proud mum to Sheona, Meryl and Kerry.

Kerry said: “Initially, mum had suddenly been taken very poorly and went into hospital briefly, before she was admitted to the Hospice for end-of-life care.

“She accessed a range of Hospice services while she was at home. Hospice @Home were briefly involved and she was also an outpatient at the Sunflower Centre which was somewhere she loved going every week.

“It was her choice to die at home and we’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful staff at the Hospice.

“Without their meticulous care, we’d have had to say goodbye to her far sooner than any of us were ready for.”

* The Hospice needs £7,500 a day to provide care free of charge to patients, families and their carers. Only 17 per cent of its income comes from government.

Special needs teacher Kerry Tute climbed Northern Africa’s highest mountain in memory of her mum Linda to raise money for East Cheshire Hospice.

Kerry undertook a three-day hike up Mount Toubkal in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains.

On top of the world…Kerry and her group on the summit of Mount Toubkal.

  She said: “It was the most amazing, intense and terrifying thing I’ve ever done.

“Day one was like climbing Ben Nevis in 40-plus heat and half way up you hit altitude. That day was okay.

“We camped on rock floors and I got about an hour’s sleep. We started day two, our summit day, shattered and deprived of sleep and I felt drunk because of altitude sickness.

Kerry Tute flying the flag for East Cheshire Hospice in the Atlas Mountains.

“It was tough and there were tears. The Atlas Mountains are truly majestic and it’s worth the fear to get to the top, but isn’t for the faint-hearted. It was mind over matter.

“Few tourists have been trekking mountains due to Covid and with bad winters the terrain has changed.

“At one point on the descent, we were sliding down on our bum. It was the only safe way with no secure footing. If you get it wrong, it was a sheer drop!

Kerry (left) with fellow climber Beth.

“I’d trained on boulders in the Peak District, but that was nothing. While I went out on my own, I was surrounded by truly inspirational people and have made friends for life.

“I start a new job as a headteacher in September and suddenly I’m not scared of that because this has overridden any fear of anything.”

* To sponsor Kerry visit justgiving.com/fundraising/kerry-tute2