Two 50s should make 100 in the London to Brighton walk

A COUPLE plan to walk from London to Brighton in just 27 hours to help raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

Herm's finance director, Andrew Bailey, and his wife, Lesley, both turned 50 over the last year and Andrew said they thought it was a great opportunity to take part in the charity event, which is 100km – or 62 miles – long.

'This seemed like a good idea at the time,' he said.

'We have been doing lots of training. However, we do have the problem that you can only walk around Herm so many times before you start getting dizzy.'

They have managed to trek solidly for eight hours on the island, but the pair have also been making regular trips to Guernsey to help improve their fitness.

'We are very much looking forward to the challenge,' said Lesley, who is a tour guide on Herm.

The walk will start at 8am on Saturday 22 June at Kempton Racecourse and end at Brighton racecourse at 1pm the next day.

Andrew said they were both very fit. But he was concerned about walking through the night during the event.

'It will be non-stop,' he said. 'There will not be time for sleep and that will hard – a real mental challenge.'

The route is along bridleways and towpaths. The pair will have head torches to see where they are going and it will be one of the longest days of the year, so they will only have about seven hours of darkness to deal with.

The pair will travel light, carrying just an emergency kit, a spare pair of socks and snacks.

The event is organised by the British Heart Foundation, which will signpost the route. Andrew and Lesley's son will also be on hand with a car, able to drive to help them if needed.

Andrew said he hoped to carry some gache to snack on.

Both of them have taken part in marathons and the ITEX around the island walk before, but Andrew said this trek looked likely to be more challenging.

The couple are taking part in the event following the death of Lesley's father from heart disease last year.

She said they really wanted to raise as much money as they could for the British Heart Foundation.

'He always kept fit and encouraged us to keep fit, so this seemed like a good thing to do in his memory,' she said.

• To donate to the pair visit www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Lesley-Bailey.