150-mile fundraising Scottish trek for hospice underway
02/09/2021
Robbie Cooke is completing the hike in memory of his late wife
A player at Banbury Rugby Club has today begun a 150-mile trek across Scotland to raise money for the Katharine House Hospice in memory of his late wife. Robbie Cooke will walk from near Lossiemouth on the North Sea coast to the peak of Ben Nevis in the West.
In 2019 Robbie’s wife Jan passed away, two years to the day after receiving her breast cancer diagnosis. She was just 34.
Robbie has decided to complete the challenge in aid of the hospice in memory of his wife. He said: “Jan’s last few days were spent at Katharine House, in a beautiful, private space surrounded by family and friends and with the kind of wonderful, dignified care any of us could ever hope for.
“But Katharine House – and Hospices across the UK – are far more than the end of the journey. They help people with life-limiting illnesses LIVE their lives day-to-day with symptoms care, counselling, activities, wellbeing programmes, and more.
“Katharine House was a rock of support for both Jan and me for two years, helping us spend our last years together with as much fun and love as we could.”
Robbie’s walk from the north coast to the west coast covers 150 miles and a climb of 6,800m.
He said: “I decided to walk across Scotland because it is where we shared some of our happiest memories. I was born in Elgin and lived in Moray with my Mum and Dad for my earliest years.
“Although Jan was proudly Texan, she fell in love with Scotland when she visited with me, and often referred to it as her ‘favourite place on Earth’.
“In 2014 we were married near Aberdeen and it’s there – at the beautiful Chapel of Garioch – that her ashes are buried.”
Anyone wishing to donate to Robbie’s fund-raising challenge can do so here.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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