An Ilkley resident is preparing to embark on a 3-day walking challenge in support of a Yorkshire children’s charity.
Clocking up over 100,000 steps, 50 miles and 20 hours of rambling, Simon Thomas, Director of Otley-based Greenholme Carpets, will walk from Skipton to Blackpool to raise funds for Skipton children’s charity, The Principle Trust.
Simon, 62, aims to raise £2000 for the Trust which provides respite breaks to children who are underprivileged, disadvantaged, disabled, have life-limiting conditions, or who have experienced poverty, trauma or abuse.
Simon, who lives in Ilkley and is a trustee of the charity, will set off from Skipton Castle at 9am on Wednesday 1st March, heading east through the stunning Ribble Valley.
From there, his route continues over the M6 towards the Fylde coastline before reaching the finish line on Friday 3rd March at Marton Mere Holiday Park, where four of the charity’s brand new respite holiday homes are based.
The 3 day yomp is the latest in a series of fundraising challenges Simon has undertaken for the charity. Speaking ahead of the event he said: ‘I’m really looking forward to my ‘Castle-to-Coast Challenge; I’ll be praying for fine weather and I’m hoping for some stunning scenery along the way.’
Founder of the charity Mike Davies MBE added: ‘Once again we are indebted to Simon for his generous support. Thanks to people like Simon, we’ve helped thousands of disadvantaged, disabled and poorly children to escape their everyday troubles and create happy memories with their families. Every penny Simon raises will help us to support more children across the Yorkshire region.’
Donations can be made at www.localgiving.org/fundraising/simons-castle-to-coast-fundraising-walk/
Simon recently spoke to Rombalds Radio about his latest challenge, you can listen to a podcast of the interview here.