Hucknall man celebrating retirement and his birthday by taking on epic cross-Britain trek

A Hucknall man is celebrating his retirement – and his 61st birthday – by walking the width of Britain in support of Macmillan Cancer Support.
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Graham Dearden finished his 43-year working career this week and turns 61 this weekend

But far from relaxing and putting his feet up, Graham is instead about to set off on a 280-mile walk across the width of Britain to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

The trek starts on Tuesday, September 14 in Boston, Lincolnshire and will end at Barmouth on the west coast of Wales on Tuesday, September 28.

Graham Dearden is walking the width of Britain for MacmillanGraham Dearden is walking the width of Britain for Macmillan
Graham Dearden is walking the width of Britain for Macmillan

He said: “I’ve done a number of challenges before for charity, so I’ve done London to Brighton three times, I’ve done Hadrian’s Wall in two days, Machu Picchu and Everest base camp and now I thought I’d do something a bit different.

"It will be a different way to mark my retirement and also give me plenty of time to reflect and look back on my 43 years in work.

"It’s going to be a challenge and this is definitely going to be different.

“Two years ago I completed 82 miles Hadrian’s Wall in less than 40 hours for Headway, and prior to that walked 64 miles from London to Brighton in under 20 hours.

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However, this is likely to be more challenging than both of those due to the number of continuous walking days, over such long distances each day.

"The weather, however, is probably going to be the biggest challenge for this one.”

Graham will be doing the walk for Macmillan to thank them for the support they have given his family, notably when his dad died from prostate cancer two years ago and also when his brother-in-law passed away with Oesophageal cancer 16 years ago.

He continued: “I’ve done challenges for a number of different charities and children’s charities in the past but Macmillan did a fantastic job for us and I felt it was time to pick a different charity and I’ve chosen them.”

Graham’s sponsorship target in sponsorship is set at £560 which is effectively £2 for every mile walked.

It currently stands at just over £300, but he is hoping this will increase.

To support Graham, click here.