Robin Walker, Parliamentary Candidate for Worcester joined fellow Worcestershire based Conservative Candidate for Wyre Forest, Mark Garnier, on Friday to walk the Worcestershire Way for St Richards Hospice. Over 100 people took part in the gruelling challenge and raised over £50,000 for the charity.
The route, covering 31 miles of the most beautiful countryside in Worcestershire and stretching from Bewdley to Great Malvern covers some of the highest points in the county and rarely stays flat for more than a few hundred yards.
Robin, his girlfriend Charlotte, and Mark, raised almost £4,000 for the hospice between them. They took part in the challenge as part of a team assembled by the Royal Bank of Scotland, who walked the route back to front from Malvern to Bewdley.
Robin said, "Having felt every step of the last few miles of this amazing walk I must congratulate everyone who took part in this event. In future I might pay more attention to the official guide that says that keen walkers might attempt the route in two days, but the pain and the effort are definitely worthwhile for such a good cause."
"We were lucky with the weather and very well supported the hospice staff, but the walk was still a massive challenge. I was hugely proud of the hundreds of local people who have turned out for this event and I am always happy to do what I can to help the hospices. St Richards is a cause that is close to my heart and a shining example of what is best about Worcester's charity sector."
Mark Garnier, Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest said, "It was a real pleasure to be able to help Robin support St Richard's Hospice, and to raise money for a charity that provides such an important resource for people at incredibly difficult times. I recently visited Kemp Hospice in Kidderminster, in my constituency, who work closely with St Richard's, sharing best practice and ideas. The visit really drove home to me how important hospices are to those people who, unlike most of us, know when their life is to end."
"Both St Richard's and Kemp rely on charitable giving for the vast majority of their running costs and I have nothing but praise for the staff, volunteers and fundraisers who make hospices like St Richards and Kemp flourish."