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Share your story about a journey
The journeys we make....
"I went to my son’s school to see him receive an award because I was very proud of him...."
"I went to the dentist as my tooth broke and I needed a new crown...."
"I took the train to Manchester to meet a good friend I don’t see very often...."
"I went swimming – regular swimming is a way to keep active...."
"I went for a walk round my local park because it was sunny made me feel happy...."
Celebrity journeys
Walk with Me, Talk with Me is our new campaign to make sure the social care system provides everyone with a basic quality of life.
Without the right support, deafblind people can struggle to make the everyday journeys most of us take for granted, such as visiting friends or going to the shops.
Here, some celebrity Sense supporters tell us about journeys they regularly make.
Genevieve Barr
David Bellamy
Simon Calder
Miriam Margolyes
Louise Minchin
Joe Pasquale
Trevor Phillips
Valerie Singleton
Graham Taylor
Tim Vine
Dame Jacqueline Wilson
Genevieve Barr, actress
My favourite walk is along the Regent’s canal, from Angel to Victoria Park in London and back again.
I love to take a book, park myself on a bench, observe the people walking past, laugh at joggers who are running funny and feeding the ducks along the way.
There is never a dull moment on the canal, particularly at this time of year when the swans are feeling feisty and competing for the females.
There are also beautiful houses to swoon at, and barges sailing past which I like to peer into and imagine living in.
I normally have to take a friend with me on this walk, however, because I rarely hear the bicycle bells clanging at me before they go past or even worse, crashing into me. However beautiful the canal is, I have no desire to end up in the dirty water by the end of it!
Genevieve Barr was born deaf. She made her major acting debut in July 2010 playing the role of a deaf teenager in the BBC One prime-time drama The Silence, and previously played a deaf nurse in the Channel 4 comedy, The Amazing Dermot, in 2009.
David Bellamy, botanist and broadcaster
I take a walk as often as I can, in every season, to enjoy the sight and sound of wildflowers and wildlife in all their glory.
Simon Calder, Senior Travel Editor of The Independent
Watch the video below.
Miriam Margolyes, actress
Connecting with people, chats & fun - that’s an essential part of my life. I think everyone needs to be able to do what I do; my daily visit to my leisure centre for a swim in the pool starts off my day with pleasure. That MUST be available to all of us; it means I’m joining in the world around me.
Louise Minchin, journalist and newsreader
I have always loved travelling, but one of my most memorable journeys will be the one I made for the BBC’s re-enactment of Around the World in 80 Days.
I travelled from Mongolia to Los Angeles with BBC Breakfast's Bill Turnbull. As well as spending 3 nights on the legendary Trans-Siberian Express, we also spent 11 days on board a massive container ship which travelled across the Pacific Ocean from South Korea, to America. The imposing Hanjin Dallas ship was as long as a premiership football pitch, piled high with blue and red containers, with seven stories above the deck and six below.
We were the only passengers on board with a German captain and Filipino crew. Time seemed endless. To while it away, Bill and I spent hours playing ping-pong. He started his book on bees, and I painted huge seascapes in oils.
The toughest thing about the trip was the ever-changing time zones. Every day the ship's clock went back a hour, so we lived a 23 hour day which was absurdly exhausting. Imagine, on the first morning you have breakfast at 8am, then 7am, then 6am, then 5am then 4am and so on!
Soon, we found it hard to stay awake at all during the day, and then could hardly sleep at night. Most bizarre of all, a week into the sea crossing we crossed the international date line, which meant that we went back a day, and had to spend the whole of Friday the 31st of July again.
In the 11 days we were at sea we saw only one ship, four whales and a few seabirds. I found it quite spooky being so far removed from the hubbub of daily life, and it was a massive relief to see cars, buildings and people and again.
You can follow Louise on Twitter.
Joe Pasquale, comedian
Thankfully I have a dog, so it gives me every excuse to go for a walk everyday. And thanks to her I’ve learned to appreciate that half an hour we share.
She’s a big dog (a German Shepherd), and she’s the boss on the walk, deciding which way to go. She has very good hearing, so she normally finds any builders working in the area making a noise and wants to say hello and bark at them, telling them to keep the noise down.
Next stop is through the local woods down a footpath to a farmer’s field, which has squares of roofing felt laid out around the edges, which have been placed there by some naturalist group (not nudists, I wouldn’t need the excuse of the dog if they were).
I always walk around the edge of the field looking under the pieces of felt, which now house families of slow worms, and the odd grass snake and sometimes a lizard or two. The dog tries to lick them, I always tell the lizards it’s a just a kiss, and they accept it graciously. (It’s not often they get kisses in this day and age.) Then it’s a trudge back up a hill to do the full circle back home.
Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
The journey I want to describe is the longest one I normally take on foot. It's my weekend run from my home in North London through Camden, Regents Park, Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath - which on a good day feels like a trip through all the best bits of city life.
It starts by breezing by the fruit and veg stall outside Kentish Town tube (feeling sprightly and barely warmed up); if it's Saturday, a polite "no" to whichever political group is shoving leaflets into the paths of passersby, and on down through Camden market, through the crowds of goths and the food stalls from every which where, into the tranquillity of the Regents Park Canal towpath. Then it's Baker Street, the Zoo and Primrose Hill with the fabulous view of London.
Finally, the false hope of the run downhill from the heath back to the fire station - where I realise there's still more to go; but somehow, by coincidence there's usually an appliance coming in or going out - providing a reason to stop, and walk the rest of the way.....and then the point of the whole thing as far as I'm concerned - the satisfaction of getting home with a reason to put my feet up for an hour or two!
Valerie Singleton, television and radio presenter
My village in Dorset doesn't have a shop so I have to drive about 4 miles into town to buy my groceries and newspapers. The town is Sherborne and it is so delightful that I always enjoy a visit there and a stroll down Cheap Street browsing in the shops.
Having spent most of my life in London, I am addicted to sitting in a coffee shop with a book or paper and watching the world go by. So shopping over, I head for one of my local cafes.
Graham Taylor, former England football team manager
My walk when I am at home, which is not often enough, is with our dog, a Shetland sheepdog (Sheltie) called Finn who is 13. Six months ago we would also have his brother Ross with us, but unfortunately he passed away and I am positive that Finn still misses him as he regularly darts in and behind grass and small bushes as he and Ross used to do.
We continue for our call to the local shop to buy a newspaper and to be brought up to date by the owner as to what is going on in our village. I meet many people on our walk which means it takes me twice as long as it should and yes football does get more than a passing mention. But when you have Aston Villa, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Wolves and Walsall supporters all living in the same area, you do get different viewpoints!
Tim Vine, comedian
When I am trying to learn a new hour of stand up comedy for a tour I like to go for little walks and talk to myself. I always find it helps break up the repetitive nature of going over and over the same jokes in my head if i'm walking at the same time.
My rehearsal journey starts as I leave my house in Banstead and potter along the pavement muttering jokes under my breath at high speed. It's the muttering that's high speed not the pottering.
I pass by the rows of semi detached houses and the small local roads eventually bring me to a large by pass. This doesn't sound very glamorous but I only have to walk next to the main road for about five minutes before I can cut into a lovely sweeping meadow which slopes from side to side.
On a sunny day, or indeed pretty much any day that isn't pouring with rain, it is a peaceful place to stride through. I love that point when crossing a field that you find yourself in the middle. There is something special about the centre of fields that is very condusive to contemplation.
This field is about the size of a football pitch and when I have arrived at the other side a small dusty path is all that separates me from the next field. Unlike the meadow before it this one is often covered in a waist high crop. I make my way through the crop, (probably highly illegal), and reach my magical destination. A tree stump. It is one of the small joys of my life to stand on that tree stump and do my act to the swaying wheat. I'm convinced the wheat enjoys it too.
Sight and sound are what make that journey what it is. I am often guilty of taking those precious senses for granted. Any charity that helps people who don't have these two senses are doing a very valuable thing indeed.
Dame Jacqueline Wilson, children's author
I love to go swimming most days. I belong to a Sports Club about twenty minutes walk away. It’s an easy enough stroll for me (though I flag a bit on the journey back home!).
However, I have to cross several very busy main roads and negotiate several confusing twists and turns – and when I get to the club I thread my way through a busy car park to the entrance and then have to climb two steep flights of stairs, find my way to the ladies changing room, then walk through the shower to the pool itself. If I were deafblind this would be totally impossible without support.
Tell us about a journey
You can support Sense’s campaign by telling us about a journey that was important to you.
What was the journey? Why was it important to you?
We'll publish a selection of your stories on this website.