A 75-year-old Stoke Climsland man is set to complete his mammoth 68-day walk from end to end of mainland Britain this week.

John Wilmut is completing the last few miles of his solo trek from John O’Groats to Land’s End in a bid to raise £10,000 to help educate some of the world’s poorest children.

Retirement takes people in different ways — walkers walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats, would-be writers write a book, while selfless souls embark on fundraising for good causes. In 2012 John Wilmut did all three, raising £10,000 for Christian Aid in the process. Now the retired educational consultant has done it again but back to front, starting at John O’Groats in a bid to raise another £10,000.

Despite the aches and pains that come with his 70 plus years, John has managed to walk the 1,100 miles at an average rate of over 16 miles a day for 68 days, with ten rest days on top, carrying a rucksack. He camped initially but the later stages have seen him lodging in B&Bs, pubs and hostels.

John said: ‘This walk has been in support of Christian Aid’s work in improving education for children and young people around the world.’

‘The aim is to improve learning, to enrich their lives and to extend their opportunities. This work is managed and carried out by local agencies, with financial support from Christian Aid. So the money that we raise in the UK pays directly for the provision of classrooms, for the production of books, for the recruitment and training of teachers, for the development of the curriculum and for the materials that children will use.

‘In 2012 I walked from Land’s End to John O’Groats in support of Christian Aid’s work in Sierra Leone and elsewhere. But the problems and the need are huge, so, after an interval of four years during which I dithered over whether I wanted to make another effort of this kind, I decided to do another walk, but this time walking south instead of north. But again, in support of education for poor children.’

In his career John saw first hand the poverty that blights children’s lives.

‘I had the good fortune to work in a number of developing countries over many years of my career,’ he said. ‘I saw some of the impact that poverty had on children’s education — the drop-out rate from school, poorly qualified and poorly paid teachers, the lack of books and the decrepit state of many schools.

‘As part of its wider commitment to the improvement of living standards and wellbeing of people in poor countries, Christian Aid and its partners are working to improve conditions for some of the children. The aim is to improve learning, to enrich their lives and to extend their opportunities. I think that’s something worth walking for!’

To read John’s story, see his progress or make a donation, visit http://wilmut.wix.com/ jogle2016