Parkinson’s UK walk tops £5,000 target

FARNSFIELD Walk For Parkinson’s was held in April and raised £5,100 for the charity Parkin son’s UK.

This is the fifth year that the walk has taken place, and over £23,000 has been raised over the five years! The 8.3 mile walk started at The Plough, Farnsfield.

There were refreshment stops at Norwood Park Golf Club, where a light BBQ meal was provided, followed by stops at The Waggon in Halam and The Old Reindeer at Edingley before returning to The Plough. 125 walkers, many with their dogs, took part.

As well as the funds raised by the walkers who pre-registered, collections were made on the day and donations were received through JustGiving. The amount raised was boosted by a successful raffle with 22 prizes donated by local businesses to which we are extremely grateful to.

Thanks also to the Farnsfield Trust for their support, Mark Tomlinson who donated £500 (match funded by Lloyds Bank) and Sarah Vardy from PIB Community Trust who donated £600. John Butler, a Farnsfield resident living with Parkinson’s planned the walk assisted by a small team. Special thanks go to Katie Thomas from Parkinson’s UK, to William Brown from Southwell Rotary Club and his team and to the pubs and the golf club for their hospitality.

The event was held to encourage people to get together to enjoy the outdoors whilst raising vital funds to support people living with the condition. This year we were also joined by Adrian and Judith Wriggley from Teeside who are major fundraisers for Parkinson’s UK in the North East.

Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, and currently there is no cure. It affects around 145,000 people in the UK and every hour two more people are diagnosed.

We hope to see all this years’ walkers return and hopefully some new participants in April 2026 when we will continue the fight against this debilitating disease.

Bruce McDowall