Alice Pyne was 16 when she set up a charity to make sure families facing their darkest moments were able to escape, even if just for a while.
Alice was terminally ill when she set up Alice’s Escapes with her mum Vicky Pennington-Pyne. Alice died aged 17.
This year she should have turned 30. A milestone the family can’t share together but Vicky is once again walking the gruelling 40-mile Keswick to Barrow Walk this Saturday to raise much needed funds for the charity and other local charities.
This will be Vicky’s 20th and final time doing the walk and she will receive a bespoke china plate at the end or recognise her achievement.
Vicky said: “When people ask me whether Alice would be surprised that I’d got to my 20th Keswick to Barrow, she wouldn’t be surprised at all.
“I’m doing exactly what Alice wanted me to do and what she expected me to do. We were two peas in a pod, and she left me clear instructions to keep the charity going.”
Since it was founded, the Ulverston-based Alice’s Escapes has supported over 500 families, including 25 this year alone, giving them precious time away from hospital to reconnect and recharge.
Its mission is to also ensure that families don’t face the same wall of silence they had – as most of the people who had surrounded them when Alice was ill disappeared when she died.
Vicky said: “I was going to stop at 15 Keswick to Barrow walks. I thought I’d done enough miles by then, but I walk a lot every day with my dogs, so I decided to do 16. When I got to 16, I decided I really needed it to be a round number, but this will be my last one. My 20th year of doing it.
“I will still be involved, the fundraising part is my favourite part, and we support all of our walkers and runners as best we can. So, I won’t be going far. The shorter Coniston to Barrow Walk, maybe.”
Her team of 50 walkers, wearing purple – the colour Alice chose for the charity – will once again take on the challenging 40-mile route from Keswick to Barrow. Vicky designs the team’s T-shirts, including tribute messages for those walking in memory of loved ones.
She added: “I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have Alice’s Escapes. Once she died, there was silence. It was a focus at the time, and now it’s a mission. We don’t want anyone to feel abandoned – we offer a safe space, and we offer hope.”
The walk is more than just a physical challenge, it’s a communal show of strength and solidarity.
“I still get a buzz from doing it. We are really lucky here as people are very community-minded, and that plays a big part. There are people cheering you on and really getting involved with this event.
“What I say to everybody is, if it’s not potentially going to kill you, it isn’t worth doing, and that’s very much the case with the K2B. It’s a hard walk, but by the end of it, you feel like you’ve conquered the world.”
Roy Barnes, chair of the Keswick to Barrow Walk organising committee, said: “Vicky’s story truly embodies the spirit of the Keswick to Barrow Walk: determination, community, and compassion.
“It’s people like Vicky who make this event so much more than a walk – it’s a lifeline for so many. We’re honoured to support her and her team on this milestone year.
“Last year we raised more than £500,000, a phenomenal amount of money which we’d love to beat this year. Charities need our support now more than ever.”
