A DETERMINED walker has raised nearly £1,000 for charity, by covering the length of the Welsh Marches from Prestatyn to his Chepstow home.

And he was recognised from these pages by a Review reader who asked him to make sure we reported again once he had completed his fundraising challenge.

Never wishing to disappoint our readers, we are happy to oblige, as 66-year-old Paul Halifax finished his walk along the 177 miles of Offa’s Dyke Path in just 12 days.

He arrived back in Sedbury last Thursday (September 27) having so far raised £918.72 for the Alzheimer’s Society towards his

target of £1,000.

Paul said: “I actually met someone on day one, just after I left Prestatyn, who recognised me from the Review’s original article (September 7). She asked me to make sure there was a follow-up article. It’s definitely a small world.”

Paul, who lives in Beachley, half a mile from the southern tip of the path, decided to raise money for the charity having seen the distress firsthand that dementia can cause.

He added: “I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone for your support, words of encouragement and, of course, all of the donations received to date.

“When I took on this challenge, I knew that I would literally be walking home.

“In the end I had a total walking distance of just over 200 miles after starting on a rather drizzly morning in Prestatyn with my daughter, Victoria, who accompanied me for the first few miles.

“It was an amazing experience with many memories to keep with me for the rest of my life.

“I met lots of lovely people along the way including walkers from the United States, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Australia and, of course, from all corners of the United Kingdom.

“There was a real sense of camaraderie among those doing this walk and everyone stopped to share stories about their experiences along the walk, or explain why they were doing it.

“As I love landscape photography, I took many pictures along the route, sharing these on the local Sedbury, Beachley and Tutshill Community Group Facebook page. 

“It was hard. There were many challenging climbs and descents and the weather for a four-day period did its best to weaken my resolve to finish. It ranged from gale force winds, that on one occasion literally bowled me over, to non-stop torrential rain.”

To support Paul’s fundraising, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-hallifax