Fundraising ramblers hope to put the Admiral Nurse Campaign on the final straight to its £100,000 target.

The Reverend Mark Barrett, of All Saints and Salcombe Regis churches, is leading a 32-mile coastal challenge from the Swan Sanctuary in Abbotsbury, Dorset, to the Swan Inn, Sidmouth.

He hopes that the mammoth Swan-to-Swan walk will be able to raise £15,000 towards securing a dementia specialist for the area.

Currently, the keen rambler has a team of 12 tackling the whole course on Saturday, April 30, with more walkers offering to join them along the route.

Mr Barrett said: “It [Admiral Nurse Campaign] is on £60,000 - it needs £100,000. The least we could do is aim for £15,000.”

The group will set off at 5.30am for the scheduled 16-hour trek along tricky terrain until they reach Sidmouth.

He said: “We have been very conservative with the time allocated.

“There will be those in the group that could do it in 12 hours and those who are like myself, who just like a challenge and are willing to break our bodies for it.”

The course will be marked out as the walkers reach checkpoints along the route.

Mr Barrett said: “The first half is very flat and we will still have energy, - the second half is the challenge.”

He added that people were welcome to join the sponsored walk, but at their own risk.

“The more the merrier, as long as people appreciate that it is particularly hard. Not just the distance - it’s made hard by the terrain,” said Mr Barrett.

If you would like to take on part of, or the full 32-mile challenge, contact Mr Barrett by the start of April by emailing, mark.barrett@sidvalley.org.uk. To donate to the Swan-to-Swan walk, visit: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/swantoswan