Around 40 undaunted hikers arrived at the White Lion at Great Longstone in the Peak District, curious about what the weather held in store for them (after a yellow weather warning from the Met Office!) on Saturday 20 September 2025 for the latest MDS Charity Walk.
Luckily, the weather was a variety of misty rain to light showers, leaving the torrential rain for when we were safely indoors at the pub enjoying a delicious buffet!
The walk itself was 10 miles over the undulating hills of the Peak District taking in the beautiful, but often muddy, sights of Cressdale Valley and the Monsal Dale. There was a range of experience, from seasoned hikers to newcomers who were all keen to raise money for a worthy charity.
The walk was on behalf of the Cauda Equina Champions Charity, to raise funds for them to continue their vital work relating to Cauda Equina Syndrome (‘CES’). The Champions Charity is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting people who have suffered from CES.
CES occurs when the nerves at the base of the spinal cord become compressed, which can be caused by a slipped disc but can be caused by other events. It is a surgical emergency, and surgery is needed urgently when there are red flag symptoms, and an MRI confirms the diagnosis. The red flag symptoms are: -
- Numbness in the saddle area (typically the genitals, anus and upper thighs)
- Changes in bowel or bladder function, including difficulties starting and stopping the flow of urine and loss of sensation when passing stool or urine.
- Severe or progressive leg pain and weakness.
If you would like to read more about CES and the red flag symptoms, you can click here to read an article from our website.
CES sufferers can be left with serious injuries as a result of the diagnosis, including bowel, bladder and sexual dysfunction, and on some occasions lower limb paralysis.
The Cauda Equina Champions Charity works alongside patients to provide support after diagnosis as well as raising awareness of CES. They provide a wide range of support options, from a National Helpline, free legal advice, funded psychotherapy as well as psychosexual therapy, healthcare education as well as other vital assistance.
Claire Thornber, the charity’s founder, decided to set up the Cauda Equina Champions Charity after she was diagnosed with CES in 2013. Since then, the charity has gone from strength to strength, and the Facebook support group has a membership of over 6000 people. It has been an instrumental part in raising awareness of CES and the injuries that can arise as a result of delays in treatment.
The charity was also involved in the working group that developed the national CES pathway, which is implemented in NHS hospitals and has been designed to ensure that CES is diagnosed and treated at the earliest opportunity.
We aimed to raise £5,000.00 on the MDS Charity Walk for the Cauda Equina Champions, and we have already surpassed that target.
Claire met us after the walk and highlighted the importance fundraising has for the charity, saying, ‘For our members it means they can access clinical psychologists, CBT, psychosexual counselling to help them to adjust to the injury after they are diagnosed.’
To hear Claire's speech please click here.
The money raised will allow members to access sessions with a clinical psychologist after their diagnosis.
It was a privilege to be involved with raising money for such a worthy charity, which does a phenomenal job in raising awareness and helping sufferers of CES.
MDS would like to again thank all who took part in the walk and braved the weather on 20 September 2025.
