This pair of poignant images show how far a daughter has gone to follow in her late father’s footsteps – by climbing the same gruelling climbing routes he did years earlier.
Jennifer Rayner, 40, is retracing her father’s favourite pastime after his life began to stutter following an early dementia diagnosis.
Her father Martin Rayner, who later died of pneumonia aged 55, came as a devastating shock to his family.
But a determined Jennifer vowed to take up his hobby of walking and climbing – getting snaps in the same locations and poses which her father had years before.
Jennifer, of York, North Yorks., said: “I wasn’t into walking until he passed away and then I started getting the bug.
“My mum showed me lots of pictures of him walking and it just went from there.”
Jennifer set about retracing her father’s footsteps on his many adventures as a climber and walker and used Martin’s diaries which he had kept.
The toughest task has now been completed with Jennifer finishing the Amphitheatre Buttress climb in Wales in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.
Having enlisted the help of mountaineering instructor Jim Walton and a second rope man Mike Peters – she said she was in safe hands.
Describing the climb, Jennifer said: “It was the most overwhelming experience ever – thank you to everyone for supporting me and Alzheimer’s Society.”
She said she struggles to reconcile the difference between the father she knew and the person he became as a result of his dementia diagnosis.
Speaking about her late father, Jennifer added: “It is the man in the photographs that I remember – the adventurous climber who loved being outdoors.
“I’m gutted I couldn’t do these walks with my dad – it’s quite poignant. When I go on walks I feel close to him.”
In her role as activities coordinator at York’s Amelia House care centre Jennifer is already helping support people with dementia.
To help Jennifer with her constant fundraising endeavour visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jennyrayner19
