Six local men are undertaking a mammoth trek to raise money for charities close to their hearts.
The six – Andy Moses, Ben Briggs, Mick Wolverson, Tim Buck, Steve Pine and Carl Taylor, along with Martin Benge and Dick Marriot – met at theDurham Ox this week to pick up shirts for ‘The Long Walk East’, kindly supplied by Durham Ox landlord Ian Pollard. The minibus for the trip has been supplied by Beerhouse.
They will take on the 192 mile cross-country route from St Bees, in Lancashire, to Robin Hoods Bay, in North Yorkshire, starting on Sunday 19 June. They will do this in just seven days, averaging almost 30 miles a day.
The walk, the brainchild of the Victorian trailblazer Alfred Wainwright, takes in three national parks – the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North Yorkshire Moors.
They are doing the walk to raise money for Alopecia UK and Dove House Hospice and Ben explained the reasons behind these two charities being chosen.
“The two charities are close to the hearts of two members of the group, Andy and Martin,” said Ben. “It is their determination to raise money for both charities that has led to this event being organised.
“Andy has a four year old son, Alfie, who has had alopecia from a very young age.
“After Alfie’s diagnosis Andy researched the issues surrounding alopecia and found that there was very little research that goes on to try and find a cure.
“As this is not a life threatening illness, funding is minimal. This has been the main motivation for Andy trying to raise money to help Alopecia UK and the work that they carry out in this area.
“Dove House is a hospice which cares for terminally ill people. Moved by the quality of care and support given to a personal friend before she passed away, Martin wanted to ‘give something back’ and together with Andy has worked tremendously hard to organise this challenging event.
“Both charities receive little or no government funding, relying soley on money raised by themselves and the general public to maintain the valuable services they provide.
“Any sponsorship money that you could contribute would be greatly received and massively appreciated by both charities.”
Anyone wishing to sponsor the lads can ask behind the bar of the Durham Ox for a sponsor form. Alternatively, they can visit