Leeds canal walk raises £4,000 for charity

Ellie Bates, 37, and Neil Bridgstock, 35, walked almost the entire length of the Liverpool to Leeds Canal in aid of Herriot Hospice Homecare.

The pair were intending to walk the full 127 miles but they had to stop 14 miles short after their “bodies gave up”.

They did the walk to show their gratitude to Herriot Hospice Homecare, which provides complementary therapy for their mum, Wendy, who has motor neurone disease.

Ellie said: “Neil and I are very active and enjoy doing outdoor activities, so when we decided to raise money for Herriot, we wanted to do something a bit different and we came up with the idea of walking along the Liverpool to Leeds Canal.

“We wanted to do it in one go without sleeping and with only very short breaks every five and 20 miles, but even though we are very fit, it was tough and although the mind was willing at the end our bodies literally gave up and we unfortunately had to stop. We are still very proud of our achievement and the most important thing is we got to share the experience with family and friends, including our mum who did a little bit in her wheelchair, and raised a lot of money for Herriot.”

Wendy, who lives in Tunstall, near Catterick, receives aromatherapy and a nail technician from the charity as well as help and training on moving from Herriot, which provides care and support to people with life limiting illnesses in North Yorkshire.

While they were walking, Ellie’s husband John sea kayaked the length of the canal and between them they managed to raise an additional £5,000 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.