A brother and sister duo will be doing a pan North Wales walk this summer to raise money for a sensory garden in memory of their mum.

Andrew Edwards and his sister, Melanie Beckley, sadly lost their mother Hazel Davies, aged 77 in December 2020, to COVID and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Hazel dedicated her life to raising awareness and campaigning for Autism, particularly working with Your Space, a North Wales charity that supports children on the Autism spectrum and their families.

The Leader: Andrew with his mum, Hazel, and sister MelanieAndrew with his mum, Hazel, and sister Melanie

Andrew was diagnosed at age four in 1989 and a specialist told his mother: “Go home and watch Rain Man. In all probability your son will be institutionalised.”

Hazel set out to prove the specialist wrong, and now Andrew is the fundraising assistant at Your Space (Marches).

Andrew and Melanie wanted to create a legacy for a “wonderful and heroic person” by creating the Hazel Davies Autism Sensory Garden with Your Space. To see the project come to life they need to raise £15,000, which their Pan North Wales Walk should help achieve.

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The Leader: Hazel DaviesHazel Davies

The walk will begin on Monday, August 15 when they will be walking from Caerhun Farm, Bangor to Pen Cefn Farm, Abergele which is 29.08 miles.

On day two they will be walking the North Wales Coastal Path to the beginning of Moel Famau, totalling 28.25 miles.

The last day, where Labour MS for North Wales, Carolyn Thomas, is scheduled to join them, is August 17, where they will begin at Llyn Rhys Campsite, Llandegla and walk to Llay Resource Centre, Wrexham, which is 10 miles. The total distance across the three days is 67 miles.

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Andrew said: “A Sensory Garden for the service users at Your Space would be not only a tremendous and fitting long term memorial to our mother, who battled with her every sinew to rear me against the odds, along with providing a cause that our Mum felt passionately about.

“67 miles in three days will be a tough ask, especially as neither myself or my sister and full-time carer, Melanie Beckley, have ever camped before.

“Nonetheless, if our mother had the emotional strength and energy to successfully raise someone with autism as well as being the best parent that Melanie could ask for then this should be infinitely easier for us to achieve this walk.

“We hope that this would make our late, beloved mother very happy.”

The link to the appeal can be found here: https://localgiving.org/appeal/HazelDaviesMemorialAutismSensoryGarden/

Andrew also thanked the company sponsors and backers who include Intramark Leicester, Goldmark St. Albans, Civic Robes Cheadle, First Celtic Toys LTD, North Wales Bed, Lindop Brothers Toyota, Yellow and Blue Hub, Magellan, MB Fitness and Gresford Eyecare.

If anyone would like to become a sponsor, you can contact Andrew Edwards on Andrew@yourspacemarches.co.uk or by phoning 07828 013 025.

For information visit www.yourspacemarches.co.uk or the Facebook page @YourSpaceWales