95 miles in memory of sister
A father of one has gone to extreme lengths to honour his sister who passed away last year.
Andrew Thomas, 50, has been left with a damaged tendon in his knee after walking 95 miles along the coast from Caernarfon to Porthmadog.
He decided the wanted to raise money for Cancer Research in his sister’s memory after she died 10 months after being diagnosed with cancer.
Ann Bischoff, a mother of three, was just 45 when she was told she had terminal cancer, and after a a short course of chemotherapy she died in November 2015.
Andrew, from Porthmadog, moved away from the area to join the RAF in 1984.
It wasn’t long after Ann’s death that Andrew decided he wanted to raise money for Cancer Research in the hope that they will one day find a cure for the disease.
He set off from Caernarfon Castle on May 26 with the idea of completing the walk by Bank Holiday Monday.
Andrew said: “It’s all a bit of a blur.
“Various people joined me along the way, and they all had their own personal reasons for wanting to walk.
“I think we’ve all been left aching and with blisters, but it was a laugh.
“There was no moaning, we just kept on going, determination carried us through to the end as we kept thinking about exactly who we were doing it for.
“I want to thank everyone who joined me, they really kept me going and it was nice to have someone to talk to, you didn’t realise how far you were actually walking.”
Despite his injuries, Andrew said he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again, but would spread the miles out over more than four days.
Andrew has now thanked all that joined him along the way, but wants to give a special thank you to those at the Ffestiniog Railway in Porthmadog for everything they did.
“They donated money and made it possible to have a great end point,” Andrew said, “It was quite overwhelming the support we received.
“Ann fought a brave battle and was always smiling even towards the end.
“I knew from the minute she was diagnosed that I wanted to do something in her memory to raise money, so that’s why I’m taking on this challenge.
“I’ll always remember Ann as being beautiful and hard working, everyone loved her and she always had a beaming smile.
“She’d probably say I was mad taking this on, but I know she’d be proud of me.”