A COLNE Valley pensioner and Parkinson's Disease sufferer is back home after an 80-day, 1,140-mile charity trek.
Alf Dawson, 78, of Golcar, walked from Land's End to John o' Groats to raise money for Kirkwood Hospice at Dalton.
And he battled back after being injured early on in the walk.
He left Land's End on April 28, but disaster struck when he reached Okehampton in Devon on May 2.
He said: "I was walking up a steep hill when I felt something go in my chest."
Hospital doctors diagnosed that he had pulled a muscle and he returned home for a month to recover.
Undeterred, Alf travelled back to Okehampton on June 4 and carried on the walk the next day.
At one point he slipped and banged his knee - but bravely carried on.
He said: "The fact I was doing the walk for charity probably spurred me on.
"If I'd just been doing it for pleasure I'd probably have packed in.
"The low point was possibly in the Great Glen in Scotland. The hills were so steep and it was wet and dark. It was miserable."
The best moment came when he finished on Friday, August 19.
He had walked between 12 and 20 miles each day.
Mr Dawson carried his tent on his back and accommodation ranged from campsites to guest houses and hotels.
He is a member of the University of the Third Age (U3A) for older people and he also goes to dancing classes.
Mr Dawson's friend, Bill Ball, of Wellhouse, Golcar, helped to organise his sponsorship.
The money is now being collected.
