Late musician’s dog joins Worthing man to walk Pennine Way in her memory

Knowing she was dying, Maria Noakes asked her brother-in-law Mark Reed, from High Salvington, to care for Lola, the puppy she had adopted before she received her devastating diagnosis.

Now, two years on, Mark, a former police officer, has raised more than £1,500 for St Barnabas House hospice in Worthing in her memory after completing a childhood ambition to walk the 268-mile Pennine Way, with Lola at his side.

Mark said: "It was like having a little piece of Maria with me. As she neared the end of her life, Maria was admitted as in-patient at St Barnabas House and Lola was able to visit her regularly. She is absolutely lovely, a wonderful dog. But it's sad because she should be with Maria. And having her with us is a constant reminder – like a living legacy.”

Maria was a talented flautist who studied at the Royal College of Music. She later bought and helped restore a harp, teaching herself to play and cramming it in the back of her Volvo for jobs in and around London.

Mark said: "Maria had her faults. Like me, she could talk for England – when she called, you’d never be able to get her off the phone. But, and I’m not just saying this now, she was a fantastic human being. Really fun, very full of life. As well as being a professionally trained musician, she was also a talented cook – whenever she came to visit, she’d always be cooking the most amazing meals for us.”

Maria was 56 when she suffered a massive stroke, which left her paralysed on her left side. Neurological tests in London revealed she had an aggressive cancer and endocarditis.

Mark said: "She lived in St Albans at the time, but my wife, Teresa, who's her older sister, wanted to look after her in her final months. We turned our dining room into a hospital room, with a great big bed and all the equipment that she needed. Teresa is a bit of a force of nature, and she took over Maria’s care, sleeping downstairs with her for the six months she was with us.

"While we were caring for her at home, Maria wouldn’t stop talking about Lola and how she missed her. It was very sad, because she’d only got Lola as a puppy a couple of months before her illness. She was so excited to have a dog, and she’d missed out on a lot of time with Lola, who was being looked after by a friend. Eventually, I decided I’d just go up to Barnet and get her."

As soon as Lola was old enough, Mark decided to take her with him to fulfil his childhood ambition to walk the Pennine Way. He completed the route in September 2022 but he wanted to do the full Pennine Way again this summer – and friends said they would sponsor him.

Mark said: "People have been fantastic. Even people who I met along the walk donated when they heard Maria’s story.”

The pair completed the walk in 17 days, spending half the nights in a tiny tent and the rest staying in pubs along the route.

"The highlight of the walk was definitely the scenery and being able to complete the adventure with Lola,” said Mark. “I had a real low point one day when we were going up Fountains Fell. It was pouring with rain, it was really boggy and I got very emotional. I was thinking a lot about Maria, and then I was stupid enough to put on some music which was very personal to me. I was properly done in that day, both physically and emotionally.

"My mum died when she was 41, and my brother died at 11. I am no stranger to grief. I was a police officer for 30 years, so I have a lot of life experience. But caring for Maria in the last six months of her life was a real privilege and a momentous life event.

"Doing this fundraising has restored my faith in humanity. You can watch the news and think how awful we are as a species, but the work people do at St Barnabas House is just incredible. It has been fantastic to do something to help and say thank you.”