A Wiveliscombe woman of 60 is walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise awareness of a rare health syndrome and fulfil a challenge she has wanted to undertake for years.

Sue Lennon, of Golden Hill, is “walking for people who can’t” in aid of Cauda Equina Champions Charity, which supports people with Cauda Equina Syndrome (CES), that affects one to three people per 100,000 in England.

The cauda equina is a bundle of spinal nerve roots that extend from the lower end of the spinal cord in the lumbar region, and branch out to various parts of the lower body. If damaged or compressed, it can lead to CES, and urgent treatment is key.

During the course of her walk and after, Sue hopes to raise awareness of the “red flag symptoms” that, if not treated within 24 hours, can lead to permanent damage, and also the challenges of living with CES.

The syndrome can lead to all kinds of problems, from a loss of mobility and foot drop, to incontinence, loss of sensation or sexual function, and more.

“People have often lost the function of things they used to be able to do, and every day is a challenge for them,” she said.

Sue, a former Macmillan nurse who now works as a psychosexual therapist with people affected by CES, decided many years ago that she would undertake the walk when she was 60, after being “blown away” by Ian Botham’s first walk the length of the country in 1985.

When Sue turned 60 in March this year, she did not see how she could do the same. “My back ached, I had sore feet, I had to work, so I was starting to let go of the dream.”

But after hearing a motivational speaker at a festival in July, she suddenly realised she could do the walk in stages. “I got back from the festival on a Sunday, bought a light tent on the Monday, caught the train to Penzance on the Wednesday and did my first walk, eight days on the South West Coast Path.”

Since then, when work and weather align, she has covered 301 miles from Land’s End to Keynsham near Bath, and from the heat of summer found herself last weekend waking up to being camped out in frost.

She has divided the 1200 miles into sections and will walk them in order. The further she gets from home, though, the harder it will be logistically, but Sue hopes to find space for her tent in people’s gardens when campsites close, or stay in bed and breakfasts. She is also seeking sponsorship, and encouragement and kindness along the way.

She plans to do one-week sections at a time, dropped off at the train station by her partner Stephen and dog Tilly, then doing the Lake District in two weeks, and Scotland in a month, hoping to end by next summer.

Sue’s story is on Just Giving and further information about CES at championscharity.org.uk/