keynshamvoice
January, 2018
n NEWS
9
Tricia rises to the Inca Trail challenge An adventurous Keynsham grandmother has completed a tough trek along the Inca Trail in memory of her husband Richard, raising thousands of pounds for research into the condition that claimed his life. Tricia Hembrough travelled to Peru and hiked at heights of up to 4,200 metres on her way to the famous Macchu Picchu citadel. Having already conquered Kilimanjaro and the Cotopaxi volcano, altitude sickness was Tricia’s major concern and she said she found breathing “really huff-and-puff” at times above 3,000 metres. There were also moments when the hikers had to climb on hands and knees and, as the oldest member of the group, Tricia said she felt she was entitled to feel a little more strain! Her most memorable moment was watching the sun rise through the Sun Gate before entering the cloud forest and
Tricia Hembrough at home and with fellow hikers at Macchu Picchu seeing a huge range of lizards, bees and butterflies. Tricia’s trek took place in what would have been her and husband Richard’s golden wedding anniversary year. Richard lived with Parkinson’s for 30 years and took part in experimental treatment for the condition. Richard was passionate about research into finding new treatments and, ultimately, a cure, said Tricia, whose trek has
raised £4,000 for Parkinson’s UK. A spokesperson for the Bath and District branch of the charity said: “Tricia wears her alpaca jacket which reminds her of the skills and traditions of the Inca way of life. She is now going back to her famous jam and pickle-making, which is sold on behalf of Parkinson’s UK Bath and District branch. Congratulations and well done, Tricia. We admire your courage, and feel privileged to have
you working so hard for the organisation.” Tricia says she isn’t hanging up her walking boots and would like to tackle Costa Rica’s coastto-coast hike as well as exploring the Grand Canyon on foot. Find out more about Parkinson’s UK at www. parkinsons.org.uk. Anyone in the Keynsham and Saltford area who would like to contact the local branch can call Hazel on 0117 336 0476.
Got news? Call Joni on 07887 561567. Email: news@keynshamvoice.co.uk