Ramblers will only put feet up when they reach £5,000

Members of the Red Coast Ramblers take on a mammoth walk for the Admiral Nurse Campaign. (Image: Archant)

The Reverend Mark Barrett led a team of 17 along the 32-mile Swan-to-Swan walk, which is made up of the South West’s trickiest coastal paths.

The Red Coast Ramblers set off at the crack of dawn on Saturday, April 30, from the Swan Sanctuary in Dorset and finished at the Swan Inn, Sidmouth.

The group hopes to raise £5,000 for the Admiral Nurse Campaign.

Mr Barrett, of All Saints and Salcombe Regis churches, said: “If we can get just about £5,000, that would be lovely. I’m pretty confident we are up to £4,000. We are going to keep the webpage open until the end of May.

“We could not have asked for better weather and the stunning views were great at distracting us from the pain.”

Brian Golding was first to complete the challenge, arriving in Sidmouth shortly after 5.30pm. The rest of the ramblers continued to pour into the Swan Inn up until 10pm. Mr Barrett added: “I think everyone felt it [the strain] at a section between Lyme Regis and Seaton called the Undercliffs.

“It felt like it was never going to end.

“When we got to Seaton, we were all feeling completely finished. Then, as soon as we got back on the coastal path, I had a second wind.”

The Admiral Nurse Campaign was launched by the Sid Valley Memory Café, in partnership with the Herald, last May to raise two years’ worth of funding for a dementia specialist.

The £100,000 appeal has raised more than £90,000 so far.

Mr Barrett thanked sponsors Hall and Scott Estate Agents and members of the memory café for their help before and on the day.

He added: “A big thank-you must go out to all those from the Sid Valley Memory Café who tirelessly manned our check-points, made sure we were fed and watered en-route, and for the amazing work on this Admiral Nurse Campaign over the last year.”

Visit: https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/swantoswan