Mum walking 5,000 miles around UK for charity back in Scotland for first time in 9 months
A heartbroken Scots mum who is walking 5,000 miles to fundraise in memory of her tragic wife has crossed the border into Scotland - as she heads home for the first time in nine months. Tracey Howe, of Bearsden, began her journey in November last year in a bid to raise £100,000 for charities that supported her late wife, Angela, who bravely battled cancer.
Tracey and their loved ones first thought Angela's symptoms were 'adjusting to retirement' - or early onset dementia. The 61-year-old began to notice a change in Angela's personality, as did their two sons. They were worried that she was struggling to adjust to retirement or suffering from early onset dementia.
But after having a seizure, Angela was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour. After multiple operations, Angela began to return to her old self - but was soon diagnosed with myeloma, an aggressive form of blood cancer. Angela passed away in September 2023, six months after her diagnosis, aged just 58.
Now Tracey has is walking 5,000 miles around the UK's coastline to fundraise in her memory. Tracey, from Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire, began her journey in November last year. She and Angela, who had spent 37 years together, had planned to take a trip around the British coastline in retirement.
But now, Tracey is completing the 5,000 mile journey solo, to raise money for charities that helped Angela in her last months. Tracey said: "Angela and I were together for 37 years. We met in 1986 when I was a physiotherapist, and we were living in the same nurse's accommodation. In the last few years of Angela's life, her personality started to change a bit.
"We couldn't quite work out why. We went on holiday and she couldn't remember going - things like that. I think she wasn't really present. Then in November 2022, she had a seizure and they found a brain tumour the size of a tennis ball. They said it must've been growing for about 10 years. Luckily, it was benign.
"She had surgery and it was like a complete transformation. We got 'old Angela' back, which really made us realise how much she'd actually changed. But she developed complications and had to go and have more severe surgery. While recovering, she developed myeloma and amyloidosis, two rare forms of blood cancer.
"It was the most aggressive form they'd seen and she was given a terminal diagnosis. They said she could live a year, maybe longer, but she just wasn't responding to any of the treatment. We wanted Angela to be at home when she died, and she did too, so we moved her home from hospital. They thought she would only last a few days, but she lasted quite a few weeks. She was tough.
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"When Angela was really poorly, I was sat holding her hand for a while. I was listening to audiobooks - one was Wild and the other was called Coasting, about someone who ran around Britain. Angela and I's retirement plan was to buy a motorhome and drive round Britain, so the two things sort of merged together after Angela died.
"I bought the motorhome and now I'm walking round Britain." She aims to raise £100,000, which will be split between the Beatson, Marie Curie, Brainstrust, Breast Cancer Now, and CoppaFeel - the latter included after her sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer. Tracey is accompanied by her dog Poppy, and has been travelling in her motorhome, which she has named Priscilla.
She believes the trek is allowing her to process her grief, while encouraging her to open up and talk to strangers she encounters on her journey. She said: "It's given me space and time to think. It's allowed me to process my anger about the cancer and everything - I've shouted at the weather. It's been tough.
"You've got all these thoughts in your head, but it can be difficult to articulate them. I cry, and I've been able to talk to myself and say all the things out loud. It's quite hard, but when you're on your own and doing all that, it's quite cathartic. Someone said to me that grief is really hard because you've got all this love for someone and nowhere for it to go."
While on her journey, Tracey has been handing out crocheted red hearts to strangers - all of which have been crafted by friends, family, and volunteers, including Olympian Tom Daley. She hands out one for each mile she walks, and encourages the receiver to take a moment to think of a loved one they have lost.
She said: "I've told my story to people along the way, and I hand out little crochet hearts on the way and tell people that's to remember somebody they've loved and lost. We open up and have a conversation - often people burst into tears and tell me about someone they've lost. I think it's really about sharing the love, and it just felt right to do. I've got 5,000 - one for every mile."
Tracey, who has recently been honoured at the Attitude Pride Awards for her fundraising, has just crossed the border into Scotland - on her way home for the first time in months. While the journey hasn't been easy, battling weather, injury, and solitude, Tracey is taking her trip one day at a time - and says the kindness of strangers helps to carry her through.
She said: "It's been very varied in terms of the weather and the terrain. I walked south, down the west coast, in the winter - told everybody I was migrating south for the winter. That was quite tough - we had all of those big storms before Christmas, so walking through those was an interesting experience. I've had a few falls and injuries on the way.
"It's a mixture - every day is different and every day brings its own challenges and its own memorable pieces. The standout thing has been the kindness of strangers. Kind people have let me stay in their homes, they've fed me, let me have showers, ferried me from one place to another, done my laundry, and just generally been amazing.
"I'm about to cross the border into Scotland and it feels like it's been a long time coming - I crossed the border leaving Scotland in November, so this feels like a significant marker." So far, she has raised nearly £40,000 - and has walked 3,275 miles and taken over seven million steps. Tracey said: "All the charities have got a personal meaning.
"The Beatson is where Angela received her treatment, and Angela was visited by Marie Curie healthcare assistants during her final nights. It enabled the family to have some rest. The Brainstrust is a small charity that were really helpful. Angela initially had a brain tumour that affected her personality.
"At the same time Angela was ill, my sister-in-law developed breast cancer, so the other two charities are Coppafeel and Breast Cancer Now." Tracey still has nearly 2,000 miles left to go - but says she avoids thinking about the finish line, and spends her time trying to soak in every second of her journey.
She hopes to reach her fundraising target by November this year - and says Angela, her "biggest cheerleader," would be proud of her achievement. She said: "When I look at the map of where I've walked, it's amazing really. Looking at the progress is crazy. What I've learnt is that there are fabulously generous people out there and we should never forget that.
"I'm trying not to think about the finish, and trying to take every day at a time. That's one of the things I've learnt from this trip - to enjoy the moment and the experiences of every day, whether that's being soaking wet from the rain or boiling hot from the sun, just experiencing the scenery and being present in the moment.
"Angela was always the biggest cheerleader for everybody - she'd be cheering me on." Richard Lee, Fundraising Director at end of life charity Marie Curie, said: "A massive congratulations to Tracey as she crosses the border and begins her final 2,000-mile stretch of the Scottish coast.
"It really is an incredible feat, and we are all cheering her on here at Marie Curie. We're so grateful to have Tracey's support and the money she is raising will go towards helping as many people access the same vital end of life care and support that Tracey's wife Angela received before she died."
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