Supporter walked width of England to help St Basils

St Basils supporter Iain Smith took on a 'coast to coast' challenge and walked the width of England, almost 200 miles, to raise funds for St Basils through sponsorship. Iain set off on 25th May and managed to keep to his planned route and timetable. The Walk took 10 days. He camped each night and carried all his camping equipment with him. He has raised a brilliant £550 for St Basils so far.

Iain who works for Balfour Beatty jokingly said before the walk: "I'm walking the width of lovely England for St Basils because I like painful blisters and disappointing weather" but then added more seriously: "I'm a Brummie and wanted to raise money for a homelessness charity and I think St Basils' work is fantastic".

Iain chose to follow Wainwright's Coast to Coast route and has provided excellent and detailed notes of his experience of the route on his website. Iain started at St Bees on the West coast to the north west of the Lake District. He then took flowwoed the route across the Lake District, the Pennines and the North Yorkshire Moors, finishing at Robin Hood's Bay on the East coast.

He said of the experience: "It was very much a tale of two halves. The first section through the Lake District was difficult as we struggled over difficult terrain in bizarrely warm weather. However, it cooled down a lot once we passed the half way point which made walking a little easier. I did get blisters but we generally got through it disaster free, and any heavy rain held off so camping was uncomfortable but not tortuous".

Fundraising Officer Steve Rainbow said: "We'd like to thank Iain for deciding to take on this endurance event to raise funds for us. It's brilliant that he has already raised over £550 and we really appreciate his support".

It's not too late to show your support for Iain (above right) in taking on this challenge. You can still sponsor him through his Just Giving page.

Updated June 2012