Former Pendle soldier's epic charity walk (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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Former Pendle soldier's epic charity walk
4:30pm Thursday 6th September 2012 in News
By Tyrone Marshall, Reporter
SETTING OFF Martin and companions Jess and Tara
A FORMER soldier has vowed never to walk more than 10 miles in a day again after he had just completed a gruelling three month trek of 1,287 miles with his two dogs.
Martin Fletcher walked from Land’s End to John O’Groats and had to battle a shortage of funds, freezing temperatures, heavy rain, heat and exhaustion before finally arriving with his three-year-old dogs, Rhodesian ridgebacks Jess and Tara.
The electrical engineer, 41, who took time off to complete the challenge, also had to be on his guard to avoid scrapes with aggressive cattle.
And he had to give both dogs massages to help with stiffness.
Martin, of Coates Avenue, Barnoldswick, served in the Queen’s Lancashire Reg-iment from 1987 to 1993 and was raising money for veteran’s charity VAUK because of what soldiers go through during and after their military service.
Setting off from Land’s End on April 23, Martin and his dogs arrived in John O’Groats on July 28.
Half way through the walk, which has raised around £2,000 for charity, Martin and his dogs spent two days back at home in Barnoldswick while walk-ing the Pennine Way, Martin said: “The walk sometimes got quite dang-erous due to farmland with fields full of cows with calves which resulted in us getting harassed.”
