Charity trekkers stop off at home on epic journey

TWO friends have reached Macclesfield on their epic charity walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Joey Reid, from Tytherington, and George Bell, from Bollington, both 23, set off from Land’s End on Monday, June 27 and reached their hometown on Tuesday.

It means the pair have so far walked just under 500 miles, following the South

West Coastal Path and Offa’s Dyke, raising £2,250 for Macclesfield youth charity Just Drop In.

On Sunday, Joey and George are planning a 10-mile fundraising walk from the Just Drop In centre on to Shutlingsloe, for anybody that wants to join.

“It’s been really good, pretty chilled,” said Joey.

“We struggled at the start with blisters and things and then keeping the pace on the coast. It was really tough on the coast. We came up through Bristol along Offa’s Dyke and through the canals back to Macclesfield.

“Both of us have loved Offa’s Dyke, the history of it and the rolling hills. It’s been nice to see more of England really. We’ve had a lot of people being really generous so we’ve stayed at a lot of campsites for free. People have brought us a few beers.”

Just Drop In supports children and young people who need a bit of extra help with their mental health, with the money raised going to their free counselling services to keep waiting times down to a minimum.

Joey added that he wants as many people as possible to join them for the walk on Sunday, which begins at the centre at 9.30am, before they head off to Scotland on Monday morning.

He said: “We were planning to do a 15 mile walk but we are going to change it to ten so more people can handle it. We’re just going to set off from the Drop In on Sunday, where there’ll be tea and coffee and we’ll finish at the Drop In as well.

“Then we’ll push on towards Scotland via the West Highland Way and we’re going to be doing a bit of the Pennine Way as well.”

The pair also wanted to thank everyone who has supported them on their epic journey so far.

“A big thank you to everybody that’s donated so far and the people that have supported us and given us really nice hospitality wherever we’ve been,” said Joey.

Anyone who wants to walk part of the route with them can email joeyreid@ hotmail.co.uk, to donate visit https://justdropin. enthuse.com/pf/joegeorge.