Tom Daley surprises woman taking on 5,000 mile UK coastline charity challenge

Tracey Howe is hoping to raise £100,000 for charity by walking 5,000 miles around the entire UK coastline.

A widow handing out knitted hearts on a 5000-mile hike around the UK coastline has received a message of support from crochet enthusiast and former Olympian Tom Daley.

Tracey Howe, a retired professor from Glasgow, who is a quarter way through her challenge, is giving out 5,000 crochet hearts along her walk to strangers to remind people of those they have loved and lost.

Ms Howe, 61, who is taking on the 365 day expedition in memory of her late wife Angela, was overjoyed to receive a video message from the diving legend.

A woman beside a signpost — Tracey Howe is walking the entire UK coastline in memory of her late wife (Tracey Howe/PA)

“For me the hearts are all about sharing the love and sharing stories, having Tom getting involved and sharing the message just means so much,” Ms Howe told the PA news agency.

“I’m such a big fan and having him support my fundraising is amazing – it’s all about raising as much money as possible at the end of the day.”

“When I heard about Tracey’s incredible 5,000-mile fundraising walk, I started crocheting that night,” said Mr Daley.

“Her story really resonated with me and it’s so moving to hear that Tracey is giving out crochet hearts to remind people of their loved ones.

“I hope my hearts go a little way in encouraging more people to talk about their grief and helping Tracey raise as much money as possible for Marie Curie and all the other amazing charities she is supporting.”

A man holding a pink heart — Tom Daley has crocheted several pink hearts for Tracey Howe (Marie Curie/PA)

She has already covered the Ayrshire coast, the Lake District and will have completed the entire Welsh coastline by the end of this week.

Ms Howe, who is walking an average of 17.5 miles (28km) per day, six days a week hopes to raise £100,000 which will be split between five charities – Beatson Cancer Charity, Marie Curie, Brainstrust, Breast Cancer Now and CoppaFeel.

Her mission is also a personal pilgrimage where she has been attempting to process her grief after losing her wife of 37 years to blood cancer in September 2023.

“Our retirement plan was to buy a motorhome and just drive around Britain and visit all the places that we’ve been before or places that we said we’d like to go and see,” she said.

“I’m walking instead of driving and I’ve been living in the motorhome for a year.

“I’m processing my grief and trying to come to terms with being one person instead of two.

“I’ve relived some of the memories that we’ve lived before in places that we’ve visited together, and now I’m making new memories that are just me.”

Two women hugging — Tracey Howe is walking 5,000 miles in memory of her late wife Angela (Tracey Howe/PA)

She has also walked through every type of landscape.

“Walking the coast is interesting,” she said. “You go from rugged cliffs to long flat beaches, which seem to go on forever, to pebbly or shelly beaches, to walking around estuaries, through farmers’ fields.

“I’ve walked through industrial areas. In the lake districts, I’ve had to walk around Sellafield nuclear power station and walk through oil refineries.”

One of the next stops on her route is Cornwall where she will walk along the South West Coast Path.

She is also supporting The Great Daffodil Appeal – Marie Curie’s biggest annual fundraiser.

To learn more about Ms Howe’s coastal challenge you can visit her fundraising page at: https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/4117/traceystrek/