A Bestwood Village man will be spending nearly six weeks walking to Portugal, to help raise money for sight loss charity Guide Dogs, after his brother started to lose his sight.
Ian West, who turns 70 this year, will be setting off on his walking challenge from St Peter’s Gate in Nottingham city centre on August 23 at 10.30am.
His route will take him to Portsmouth, where he’ll board a ferry to Santander on August 30.
With permission from the captain of the ferry, Ian hopes to complete 12 hours walking whilst onboard, before arriving in Spain on September 1.
He’ll then continue walking from Spain to Portugal where he hopes to arrive at his final destination, Pedras Lawn Bowls Club in Cabanas, during the first week of October.
Ian said: “I’m very excited for the challenge ahead and can’t wait to get started.
“I’m looking forward to meeting people along the way. Even if they can only afford to give me 10p towards my challenge, everything helps – everything is building towards helping somebody less fortunate than ourselves.
“My brother is going blind and has been diagnosed with Macular Degeneration.
“Once I found out about his sight problems, I knew Guide Dogs would be the charity I wanted to support forever – that’s my world now.”
Ian has previously undertaken various walking challenges in aid of Guide Dogs, including walking over 600 miles (965km) to every Premier League football ground and walking the entire coast of Britain.
With the money he raises, Ian hopes to name a guide dog puppy Neptune, via the charity’s Name a Puppy scheme.
Claire Robotham, community fundraising relationship manager for Guide Dogs, covering Nottinghamshire, said: “Ian has done many challenges for us in the past, but none that have taken him across international borders.
“He is 70 this year and this is his present to himself to complete this challenge and hopefully raise enough money to name another guide dog puppy.
“Ian raises awareness of Guide Dogs wherever he goes – he’s truly an asset to our charity.
“We wish him the best of luck and will be cheering him on along the way.”
To sponsor Ian via JustGiving, click here.
