Author and Parkinson’s campaigner Tom Issacs is heading over to The Watersmeet this month to talk about Coastin’ – his incredible 4,500-mile journey around the coast of Britain to raise money for vital research into a cure for the disease that has been part of his life for the past 13 years.

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s aged just 27, Tom, who lives in Croxley Green and was born in Chorleywood, is now gearing up to talk about his experiences at The Watersmeet next Thursday based on his book, Shake Well Before Use – which was published last summer, a frank and funny account of his adventures on England’s coastal highways and byways.

Seven years after discovering he was suffering from Parkinson’s – a progressive neurological condition that affects movements such as walking, talking, and writing – Tom was unable to put one foot in front of the other without medication, but sheer determination led him to dream up the idea of a fundraising walk and make that dream a reality.

Early in the book, Tom confesses how utterly unprepared he felt on the first stage of his trip. Controlling his movements was difficult enough with Parkinson’s when just going about his everyday life but to have to face up to detours, foul weather and a body that refuses to move when you’ve a schedule of 15 miles a day to stick to is something else.

Tom says: “There were quite a few detours, it’s incredible I didn’t get completely lost. I realised I was going in the wrong direction a lot of times, quite often because footpaths came to nothing. I got snared in barbed wire and all the rest of it, but I wouldn’t admit to not being able to read a map. I’m a bloke and it’s part of what us blokes do.

“I was absolutely adamant I’d do this thing properly, so if there was ever a moment where I reached the end of a walk and someone gave me a lift to a B&B, I’d always start off again 200 yards before the point where I was picked up.”

Reading on, I learn that Tom’s progress in the walk was also hampered by having to keep press appointments in London to keep the Coastin’ campaign in the public eye, so there was a certain amount of stop-starting to the proceedings. He didn’t want to draw negative attention either, so much so, that when he got the shakes he crouched behind a wall in the rain hoping no one spotted him. Tom acknowledges his pride might have got in the way some times.

“I’ve had to mellow really as I need help more often now. I mellowed in all sorts of ways when doing the walk. At first I was very aware when I started shaking that I didn’t want to be seen by people, but now I think what the hell? People will just have to deal with it. If it doesn’t bother me, it shouldn’t bother them.

“The longer it went on, the more my body adapted and I was able to cope with it. It’s amazing how the body adapts.”

I wonder if other people with Parkinson’s have found inspration in Tom’s book.

“I’ve had mixed reactions. For some it makes them think they can do it too, but others say they can’t walk to end of the street and find it quite depressing to read my story. To them I’d say keep trying to walk to the end of the street. Concentrate on things you can do rather than those you can’t. Get halfway to end of street and then go a bit further. I’m a firm believer life is about disposition not circumstances.”

Tom was joined by friends and celebrities along the way but his disposition meant he was happiest when he could strike out alone.

“I covered about one-third of it on my own. I’d have liked to have more time on my own as I really enjoyed walking on my own. It might sound a bit bizarre, but you can go at own pace and it becomes more of an adventure, plus you meet more people and have more adventures.

As well as relating adventures from meeting Lincolnshire farmers with hearts of gold to giving an impression of the topography of Britain, Tom’s book covers his diagnosis and how he came to terms with Parkinson’s.

This might sound like a tall order but in part written while on the walk, Tom’s account carries the reader onward both in understanding and following his physical journey from place to place.

“At the begining there was quite a lot of ground to cover. I wanted to set the picture and tell people about Parkinson’s. Later chapters have more detail of where I am. The nature of the walk is that you don’t stop you keep going. It would be lovely to go back to some places. By the time I got to the south coast I was a walking automaton; walking was so much part of me I took it for granted and whizzed through it.”

At the Watersmeet, Tom says he’ll give an illustrated talk after a brief introduction.

“My friends will introduce me just to say I was a fairly obnoxious before I had Parkinson’s and things haven’t changed much. Then I’ll talk about how I’ve come to terms with Parkinson’s and talk about the walk with photos and funny anecdotes. I want to show people what happened rather than tell them.” The Coastin’ campaign totalled £350,000 and over the past two-and-a-half years, Tom’s charity, The Cure Parkinson’s Trust, has raised an impressive £2.5 million. Fundraising and awareness events and finding a cure for Parkinson’s are full-time concerns for Tom.

So is there much time for relaxation?

“I keep going until I crash and burn. I advise others to relax and meditate as stress is a huge factor with Parkinson’s. If I had any sense at all I would relax but I don’t. I’m not very good at relaxing.”

Tom Isaacs and The Cure Parkinson’s Trust present A Staggering Journey at Watersmeet, High Street, Rickmansworth on Thursday, April 9 at 7pm. Tickets: 01923 711063, www.cureparkinsons.org.uk (£5)

Some facts about Parkinson's Disease

In 1817, James Parkinson, the son of a surgeon and apothacary wrote An Essay on the Shaking Palsy, which first established Parkinson’s disease (PD) as a recognised medical condition.

One in every 20 people diagnosed with Parkinson’s is under the age of 40. Michael J Fox’s first book, Lucky Man (2000), about his experiences of young-onset Parkinson’s. He has just published a follow-up book Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.

No two Parkinson’s patients have the exact same symptoms.

More than 120,000 people in the UK have Parkinson’s.

Large doses of vitamin C and vitamin E are often used to limit cell damage caused by Parkinson’s.

Alternative therapies such as ayurveda, cranio sacral therapy, massage, meditation, reflexology, reiki, shiatsu, tai chi and yoga have proved useful. Regular physical exercise, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, diet and speech and voice therapy can help improve quality of life. Research into cures involving gene and stem cell therapy and spinal cord stimulation is ongoing.