A WIRRAL family is remembering their “family man” dad with a 30-mile charity hike across the peninsula.

The family said goodbye to Brian Buckenham in 2021, who passed away while affected by macular disease, the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK.

His son Paul Buckenham led the way in walking 30 miles around the Wirral earlier in August, to help raise awareness of macular disease, with donations going to national sight loss charity the Macular Society, and the British Heart Foundation.

Remembering his dad Brian, Paul, 53, said: “He had other health conditions which meant he was housebound and not very mobile but once his vision started to be badly affected, indoor tasks became so much harder for him.

"He found it hard to read, to watch TV and all that stuff he found so frustrating.

“He had always been a very practical person, a very hands-on person. If anything needed fixing, dad would’ve fix it. Any DIY job, or if one of the grandkids’ toys was broken he would always give it a go. But he had such an interesting sense of humor, and he was very much a family man.”

Paul was joined by his partner Stephen, who was raising money for the British Heart Foundation, following the passing of his nephew, Aaron.

The couple had raised more than £1,000 including Gift Aid, at the time of writing, to be split between the heart and sight loss charities, through their online JustGiving page.

They were joined by members of Paul’s family along the way, as they took in the sights of Liverpool across the Mersey Estuary and North Wales, along their route between Birkenhead, Neston, West Kirby and New Brighton.

Paul said: “We chose this route in particular, because I grew up on the Wirral, it’s where my dad knew and moved to before I was born, so it was combining that with raising money for charity. We were both shattered in the end, but it was great to be able to complete it.

“Most of my family still live in the area and with their kids and dogs, they joined us for different stretches of the walk. Whether they were with us for half an hour or an hour, that was really important for us because actually without them it would have been a lot harder. It was really nice to have that support.

“I'd just say a massive thank you for all the support we’ve received. It’s unbelievable because we smashed our fundraising target and we had such an amount of support and messages. It was amazing really, awesome that people could support us in this way.”

Nearly 1.5 million people are currently affected and many more are at risk. The disease can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces. Many people affected describe losing their sight as being similar to bereavement.

There is still no cure and most types of the disease are not treatable. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common form of macular disease, affecting more than 700,000 people, usually over the age of 50.

Paul added: “In an ideal world, it would be great if there was a cure, but anything that can improve existing treatments is important too.

“It comes down to quality of life, so if we can improve the quality of life for someone living with macular disease, that should be prioritised.”

Online donations can be made to Paul and Stephen’s JustGiving page here.