JIM Morton is finally planning to take a break from walking after raising a further £3,000 by walking the entirety of the Normandy D-Day beaches.
The 64-year-old dad-of-three, from Penistone, set off in a motorhome with his wife Sue and dogs Shona and Maisie on April 12, 2021 - the day the Covid lockdown ended to undertake his walk of a lifetime.
He spent 537 days on his trek around the entire British coastline to fulfil a life-long dream and to raise money for the Gurkha Welfare Trust which provides aid to Gurkha veterans, their families and communities.
To help reach his goal, Jim travelled to Normandy to walk the entirety of the D-Day beaches - ending the walk on June 6, the 80th anniversary of the operation.
He managed to raise a further £3,000 and is now hoping to raise the additional funds in a different way.
Jim said: “I managed to complete the mission by walking 95 miles in five days. I’ve raised another £3,000. I started at Utah, then to Omaha, Gold, Juno and ended at Sword - I event had time to finish it off nicely at Pegasus Bridge.
“The coastline walk was a lot bigger but I’ve put on two stone since then so I’m carrying a bit more weight with me,” he joked.
“I’m now just over £7,000 off the target and I’ve still got 350 of my books left so if I can sell all of those I won’t be too far off. Hopefully I won’t have to get my walking boots out again - but I’m more than happy to do some more if I need to.”
To follow Jim’s journey and to donate, follow his Facebook page ‘I May Be Gone A While’.
