Matt and Tara Zeal were in the maelstrom of “raw and unfiltered” grief when they began walking from John o’ Groats to Land’s End, having buried their 15-year-old daughter Amelie only two weeks earlier.
Along with their daughter Sophia, 13, and dog, Orla, they began the 1,200-mile trek with a lock of Amelie’s hair as an act of remembrance, inspired by her determination and sense of adventure.
Their eldest daughter died in July last year, just four months after being diagnosed with diffuse midline glioma (DMG), a rare and aggressive brain tumour for which there is no cure.
Mr Zeal, 47, a project manager from Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, said: “Amelie and Tara spent many hours during her illness glued to the TV watching Race Across the World and fantasising about what adventures they would have when she got better.
“It was Amelie that inspired this walk, having seen someone take up the challenge on TikTok and declaring she wanted to do it as soon as she could. She was in the prime of her young life, fit, strong and fun loving. She would have loved this adventure, dishing out sass and cheer in equal measure. I miss her carefree smile so very, very much.”
Up to 40 children in the UK are diagnosed with DMG every year. It has an average survival rate of between 9 and 12 months. Amelie died surrounded by her family at Acorns Children’s Hospice in Worcester.
“We began walking as a way to keep breathing during a time when nothing made sense any more and it has gifted us with natural, soul-lifting beauty and the kindness of strangers with each step,” Mr Zeal said in a letter reflecting on the journey as it came to an end.
“Life is so unbelievably precious, yet so easily squandered to the day-to-day small worries we waste it on. I just hope I can hold on to this lesson once things return to some semblance of ‘normal’.”
The family is set to complete the challenge on Saturday, having raised more than £30,000 for Acorns Children’s Hospice and Abbie’s Army, a charity funding innovative medical research to find a cure for DMG.
The parents have been taking it in turns to walk the length of the country, to allow Sophia to continue at school. The family have walked together whenever possible, while Orla, a three-year-old labrador-collie cross, has been there every step of the way.
Mr Zeal said: “We began walking less than two weeks after we buried our precious daughter, when grief was raw and unfiltered by time. Now, five months after her death, the weight of our grief is more familiar, less of a shock each time we wake to it, but still in moments seemingly unbearable.”
When confronted with a prognosis which gave her only months left to live, Amelie asked her parents: “What’s the point?”
Her father said: “I’m still struggling to answer and the best I can do so far is to try and spread kindness and not fear; to act a little more consciously and to strive each day to send positive ripples out from each of our clumsy interactions with those around us. Amelie never gave up, she never stopped caring about her family and friends.”
The family have asked people to donate to their two chosen charities and to “remember how precious life can be and how truly lucky we are”.
Mr Zeal added: “If we can each do this a little bit more then the world will be a kinder, better place.”
Family and friends described Amelie as being fun and full of life. She was a dedicated athlete who excelled at competitive rowing, winning gold and silver medals in the British Indoor Rowing Championships in 2023 and a bronze medal in 2024.
She also loved singing, surfing, skateboarding, playing football and guitar, as well as long walks across the country with her family.
Her parents said she fought her cancer with “all her will” and showed “true courage”, but her tumour continued to grow despite radiotherapy.
Mrs Zeal, 49, an epidemiologist, said: “We miss Amelie so much but we’re remembering her by doing something she would have loved; stepping out, starting to walk, pushing ourselves beyond what we think is possible.”