HE’S on the last leg of an epic journey.

And Holmfirth man Joe Queening is confident he will complete his trek from Land’s End to John o’Groats.

Despite admitting he’s no runner and is a “bit of a big lad”, Joe is now in the north of Scotland and closing in on one of his goals.

The second is to raise £1,000 for Help for Heroes – the charity which helps wounded servicemen.

It’s an apt choice for the 23-year-old, who will start at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in September for a career in the Royal Engineers.

He expects to finish the 874-mile challenge with many hundreds of pounds pledged.

The former Greenhead College and Leeds University student said: “A lot of my friends are in the army and I’ll be joining soon.

“Hopefully it will never come to it, but we might need a charity like Help for Heroes in the future.

“I think soldiers coming back from the war often don’t get the help and support they need.The government has let them down a bit.

“It makes sense to help these guys and create a bit of publicity for the charity.”

Joe ran the Malta Marathon in February but admits: “I’m not a runner – I’m a bit of a big lad. But doing the marathon in Malta got me in shape for this challenge.”

Joe, whose mum and dad John and Hazel live in Holmfirth, set off from Land’s End at the start of May.

Apart from a near miss with a camper van on a narrow road, a few long nights half-frozen in his tent, and being spat at by a motorist, the challenge has gone smoothly.

Joe said he draws lots of attention with his Help for Heroes T-shirt, and many people he’s met along the way have sponsored him.

When people find out he’s from Holmfirth they often mention TV series Last of the Summer Wine.

Joe said: “People stop you in the street to ask where Compo’s buried, it’s a bit hard to know how to answer.”

Joe is walking on A roads with a backpack containing a sleeping bag, a tent and some emergency food.

He said: “I’m mostly staying in the tent, but sometimes a nice friend will come and pick me up and take me somewhere warm for the night and drop me back off.

“They drop me where they picked me up from – I’m not cheating!”

To sponsor Joe visit www.justgiving.co.uk/lejogqueening