Express & Star

Pete completes mammoth walk one year after brother's death on same route

A determined man has completed a mammoth fundraising walk in memory of his brother.

Published
Pete Richardson, who walked from John O’Groats to Land’s End, with a picture of his brother Brian

Pete Richardson had started the 874-mile walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End to raise funds for Guide Dogs for the Blind and Place2be, with his brother Brian supporting him in their motor home.

But Brian died from a heart attack in his sleep just two weeks into the walk, bringing the walk to an end.

However Pete Richardson, from Penkridge, made the decision to re-start and complete the walk in his brother’s memory, starting out from Blackford, near Perth, in Scotland on Monday, September 16, the one-year anniversary of Brian’s death.

Pete and Brian

With his wife Jocelyn supporting him on the journey south, 72-year-old Pete was able to complete the walk in six weeks, arriving at Land’s End on Saturday, October 26.

Pete spoke about why he chose to do the walk, which has raised £2,500 for Guide Dogs for the Blind, £2,000 for Place2be and over £3,000 for the British Heart Foundation, and his emotions on reaching Land’s End.

He said: “I’ve been saying that I’ll do this walk for over 34 years, ever since I saw Ian Botham walking through Worcester, and last year was the time I finally got round to doing it.

Pete and Brian outside their motorhome

“I worked out why cyclists do the walk from south to north, as the wind got heavier as I got south, but we arrived at Land’s End at 1.15pm on Saturday, October 26.

“I was overcome with emotion when we arrived as 10 members of my family were there, which I wasn’t expecting.”

Pete added: “I think Brian would be over the moon to see me complete the walk and he’d be touched I was doing it in his memory.”

And it wasn’t until they both saw the date on the board at Land’s End that they realised it was their 51st anniversary.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.