75-mile canal trek in memory of mother and grandmother

Elaine Hare, the clerk at Thatcham Town Council, and Kate Hare, a teacher in Basingstoke, will walk a stretch of the Kennet and Avon Canal, from Reading to Bath, next month.
The Mad March Hares, as the duo are calling themselves, are aiming to raise £1,000 over the six-day trek, but Miss Hare says that if they make £500 she will do one of the legs in costume.
The money will be donated to St Michael’s Hospice, north Hampshire, where her grandmother Avis Stokes spent her last few days 10 years ago.
Miss Hare, aged 27, said: “I was 17 when she died so I didn't really see the care they gave her but now I can appreciate how important they were in the final weeks and how they supported her.
Mrs Hare added: “The kindness and care given by staff to my mum, as well as tremendous support given to us, has never been forgotten.
“As it is now 10 years, it seems a fitting tribute to do something for the hospices.”
They will set off from Reading to Aldermaston on Monday, April 1, and then on to Newbury on day two. Day three will see them make it to Crofton, followed by the toughest day, covering 19.5 miles, from Crofton to Devizes.
Day five will take them on to Bradford-on-Avon, leaving them 9.5 miles to cover to Bath on the final day.
Miss Hare said: “It was my mum's idea, she wanted to something to celebrate [my grandmother’s] life.
“I'm excited but anxious as well. We are doing it together so we will be able to support each other through it, but we are going to have five-and-a-half solid days together – which is going to be interesting.”
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