A 72-year-old fundraiser has completed a challenge to walk along all the major canals in England. Lucy Wood reports
Kate Ainslie Williams has succeeded in her goal, finishing with the Thames and Severn Canal at Lechlade, but starting in Stratford-upon-Avon. Over the years she has walked more than 1000 miles along the canals, raising money for charity. This final walk was for the Motor Neurone Disease Association to raise vital funds for people living with MND – a cause that is deeply personal.
“My good friend Caterina now suffers from this debilitating disease, having fallen against a guard rail which gave way and onto cliffs and rocks eight metres below in Italy two summers ago,” said Kate.
“Her speech was the first to go and now she is wheelchair-bound. Her eyes are her only working facility to help her communicate via a computer which reads her eye movements. Such is the miracle of modern technology.
“We are all familiar with this cruel disease through the likes of Doddie Weir and Rob Burroughs, both rugby players, and many of us will know friends and family affected by this disease.”
Kate has not only walked the canals, but also many of the long-distance routes in the UK like the South Downs Way and Offa’s Dyke and has covered in total more than 2000 miles raising money for different charities – the equivalent of walking to Rome and back! In addition, she has driven in a convoy twice to Ukraine taking much needed medical equipment and on her last trip raised £20,000 for a specialist microscope for eye surgery to be used to help people wounded in the war.
Kate said: “I enjoy walking along the canals as it’s easy navigation, on the whole flat, and generally safe for a girl on her own. Many canals are not accessible for either boats or walkers, it must be remembered.
“I’ve done all this carrying my own stuff and walking in one go, staying in hotels, pubs and B&Bs along the way.”
Kate’s friend, Caterina Goodhart, sustained more than 18 fractures to her neck, ribs, pelvis, collar bone and femur in the tragic accident in August 2023. That October, she noticed her speech was slurring and in December was diagnosed with MND due to the severe head trauma she received from the fall. The much-loved grandmother has been hugely supported by the NHS and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Kate’s target for her final walk, which she completed at the end of May, was £10,000; as this issue of Towpath Talk went to press, she had exceeded her target. Posting an update on her JustGiving profile, she said: “I’m resting up with two very sore feet but very happy to have walked 125 miles and 285,000-plus steps over eight days for MNDA and the Goodhart family. Davinia Goodhart, Caterina’s daughter and my goddaughter, walked with me on the last day, which was a long slog by a defunct canal, a growing Thames, fields and roads and tracks, with rain wind hailstones and a bit of sun.”
There is still time to donate to the cause by visiting www.justgiving.com/page/kate-ainslie-williams-9
