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Ian finishes his mammoth trek

Lucy McGuire
12/ 6/2008

A MAN who trekked over 900 miles between the most southern to the most northern point in Britain has arrived back in Whitefield in one piece and raised over £5,000 for a homeless charity.

Ian Orrell, 60, walked from Lands End to John O’Groats in 63 days as part of a challenge to raise funds for the Salford-based branch of Emmaus, which helps homeless people rebuild their lives.

The former Manchester Grammar School chemistry teacher arrived back at his home in Higher Lane, on Monday, June 2, a stone lighter and with a few bruised ribs.

And although the father-of-one described the end-to-end walk as ‘spectacular’, he said he still at times had to ‘dig deep’ into the depths of his willpower to complete the challenge.

He said: "There was one point in the whole trip when I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew.

"I was in Somerset and I looked at the map and thought ‘I’m not going to manage eight hours of walking today’ - sometimes I was walking 23 miles in one day.

"After I’d reached Scotland, there was an unscheduled river crossing going up the Lairig Ghru.

"The bridge shown on the ordnance survey map has long since gone and we had to wade through.

"The water was freezing.

"I also had a stumble and fell into the roadway, north of Bonnybridge, and bruised my ribs.

"And walking through snow patches through the Cairngorms was hard-going at times.

"But waking up at 7 o’clock in the morning, 4,000 feet up in the mountains and seeing the snow peaks was spectacular.

"I was very lucky, I didn’t have a full day’s rainfall in nine weeks."

Ian added that although the journey is typically 874 miles, he trekked an amazing 950 miles.

And although he was offered many lifts, he says he didn’t weaken to temptation.

Ian, who is a trustee of Emmaus, said: "I wanted to complete this challenge for the charity and because I promised my family and friends I would get there.

"I would recommend the walk to people, it’s been a great adventure and a great experience - I’m really chuffed with the achievement."

A spokesperson for Emmaus said: "Ian’s trip has raised a lot of awareness about what we do and we are delighted with what he has achieved."

To help Ian reach his fundraising target, go to: www.justgiving.com/ianorrell.