Gill Hicks, who lost her legs when bomber Germaine Lindsay detonated his home-made bomb on the London Underground, begins a walk from Leeds to London today aimed at encouraging "honest dialogue" among communities that otherwise may not meet.

She and her husband Joe Kerr will set off from Leeds city centre today on a walk to London that will take them through Beeston in Leeds and Dewsbury, where the bombers had links. She now wears prosthetic legs. Their WalkTalk event aims to cover 10 miles a day, taking in Wakefield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Sheffield before arriving in London on August 17.

Community activists from Global Promise and Together for Peace, both based in Leeds, are taking part in the walk and support has come from mosques, businesses, police and organisations across Yorkshire. A spokesman for the event said it was neither a peace walk nor a charity walk but an event to build peace and reconciliation and to get diverse people "walking and talking".

Mrs Hicks, who set up Making a Difference (Mad) for Peace, said: "I am truly grateful to even be alive, and I am determined to make my life count, to make a significant difference. Building peace and reconciliation and obviously trying to deter anyone from following a path to violent action is my main focus.

"WalkTalk is the first major project that Mad for Peace has initiated – it was actually my husband Joe's idea. We had been giving a lot of thought as to what we could do together, using our combined strengths." People can join the walk by registering at www.walktalk.org.uk