Sheffield mother to lead Peak District walk in memory of daughter 10 years after death

Faye will lead the memorial walk in Gabi’s memory on Sunday, March 26, starting from Ashford in the Water to Bakewell and back round the Monsal Trail.

The walk was a favourite of Gabi’s and the last one she ever did with her mother and brother Zach, now 26, just six days before she died.

It is being organised with the help of the Sheffield 40s Ramblers Group (S40s), which Faye joined four years ago to help her recover from a relationship breakdown.

Faye says: "Like me, Gabi loved being out in nature, so with masses of interesting things to see like llamas and water voles, the lure of a hot chocolate in Ashford and a slice of cake in Bakewell, this walk was always a family favourite. It seems a perfect way to remember her life, 10 years on since her light was extinguished from our lives.”

Gabi’s death came two years to the day after her father had died, and the story became national news. Suddenly, lifelong Sheffield resident Faye, director of Keep Your Fork, a successful communications agency, was in the media herself.

She says that the Sheffield business community “rallied to practically and financially support me and my son alongside family and friends in an unprecedented way and I will always be grateful”.

After just six weeks off, she continued growing the business but four years ago the unexpected end of her engagement, and death of her father, a few months apart was “the final straw which caused my mental health to collapse”.

She joined the S40s Ramblers and “was astonished at the level of camaraderie and emotional support members of the group offered each other. I had never experienced anything like it outside a church community. They were like a big, warm family and members were so welcoming.”

S40s welcomes people of a range of ages but most are 40 to 60.

Faye has since launched a new venture, Hope Walking, which offers modern pilgrimages for women, after spending time in the south.

“Although I was sorry to leave my S40s Rambling friends behind, taking a sabbatical to join a specialist residential trauma recovery community in coastal Kent - unique in the UK - was the best thing I could have done. Alongside the psychotherapeutic grief recovery techniques I was learning, during lockdown I discovered the healing power of nature, walking and cold-water swimming. The result was a whole new business and life purpose - Hope Walking – which I launched a year ago this month.”

First, Faye qualified as a walk leader and is training as a Bereavement Befriender with support charity Care for the Family, which also helped her through Gabi’s death. She has moved back to Sheffield where she will be running Ramblers Wellness Walks as well as her women-only grief and loss walks, which have recently been featured on both the BBC and ITV.

She says: “My new venture, Hope Walking, has grown out of my own experience of the restorative impact of walking – across fields and in woodland, among the hills and by the sea, alone and in company – as I struggled with and eventually came to terms with a series of challenging life circumstances.

"Growing up on the edge of the stunning Peak District National Park, I always enjoyed walking in nature, but I only discovered the deeply therapeutic power of ‘walking myself well’ after my marriage broke down and I endured a succession of bereavements.”

She adds: “Time and again, walking has been the means to recovery of my own mental and physical health, enabling me to find hope, strength and a new belief in myself and in life when so much that was precious had been lost.

"Today you find me in the process of creating a far more sustainable, inspiring, healthy future than I could ever have imagined and bringing as many people as I can on that journey with me.”

Gabi’s Memorial Walk is free and open to anyone, with donations on the day going to the Ramblers Coast Path appeal. For more information, visit www.s40wg.org