Walking Mount Snowdon for WEAAD 2008...

Ed, will be making a serious walk to the top of Mount Snowdon in North Wales on June 15th to mark this years World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.

Last year Ed snorkelled 17 miles from Ely to Cambridge highlighting the fact that 350,000 elder people suffer abuse in their own homes each year in the UK.

Current adult protection systems are not reaching older people, medication abuse continues to be a major problem, and that in many cases elderly people are being left in bed, or unwashed, or left without food or access to the toilet. While two thirds of abusers are family members, nearly one tenth are domiciliary care staff. Twenty percent of theft is by domiciliary care staff.

Ed emphasises the abuse of older people is a blight on our society and there is a duty on all of us to face up to the challenges.

This year Ed, is also making the walk to say thank you to staff at the Cancer Unit in Addenbrookes Hospital University Dept, for the fantastic and highly professional way he has been looked after during recent visits. Ed says that he will often report on the negative aspects of treatment in local hospitals but this time he has nothing but praise for every member of staff he came in to contact with and feels that he should say his thank you to the staff at Addenbrookes by making it public, and what better way than from the top of Snowdon!!

Eds walk will be a serious 10 miles, along the Llanberis Path route, starting only a couple of hundred feet above sea level. And raising to 3,560 ft of the Mass of Snowdon, giving Ed some great views of the Snowdon trains as they go up and down with the summer tourists. As Ed gets close to the summit the going will get tougher and very steep. Ed, will be spending about 8 hours or more walking up and then down Snowdon, having a few stops for a nice cup of tea or soup and bite to eat and will bring home a certificate, which tells all that he reached the top!!

The summit is marked by a cairn, on top of which is a brass plaque which points out what Ed, might be able to see, and the distance away it is depending on the weather, which is very unpredictable at the best of times. If he is lucky he might get good views - however, he might only just be able to see his hand in front of his face! Whichever way, Ed will be leaving his mark on Snowdon by planting a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Flag .

If you would like to pledge your support to Ed, you can contact him direct on 07766126220 or at www.sponsorformsonline.co.uk. Helping to raise funds for Action on Elder Abuse and Addenbrookes Cancer Unit.

Snowdon Facts:

• Snowdon stands 1,085 metres (3,560 feet) high.
• The summit has 200 inches(508 cm) of rain per year, and can reach temparatures of 30 centigrade in high summer, and plummet to - 20 centigrade in the winter. Add to this winds of up to 150 mph and the temparature can feel more like - 50.
• The summit buildings at the top can by covered by ice and snow between November and April.