Coast to Coast Challenge

Andrew has done it — an absolutely incredible achievement!

Seven marathon-distance walks in seven consecutive days, crossing England from St Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea.

He battled steep climbs, difficult terrain, exhaustion and a painful, burning knee, but he refused to give up. With the encouragement of his family, friends and brilliant support crew, Andrew kept putting one foot in front of the other until he finally reached the finish.

Earlier this year, Andrew completed five demanding days trekking the Great Wall of China. Now he has completed his most ambitious challenge yet — walking the Coast to Coast in just seven days to raise money for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust.

We are incredibly proud of him. Thank you to everyone who walked alongside him, supported him on the route, sent messages, shared his story or made a donation. You helped carry him through every difficult mile.

The walking may be finished, but the fundraising continues. You can still donate, enter the charity raffles or bid in the arrowhead auction through the Walshy’s Walks website.

Congratulations, Andrew — you did it!

I can’t believe I’m writing this, but Andrew has reached Day 7 — the final day of his extraordinary Coast-to-Coast challenge!

This time tomorrow, he will finally be resting and, hopefully, beginning to feel an enormous sense of achievement.

Andrew set off this morning from near Fryup — although, unfortunately, no fry-up was consumed! Eight kilometres in, he did receive a bacon and fried egg roll courtesy of Tony at the Arncliffe Arms. He is now heading ever nearer to this evening’s finish line on the beach at Robin Hood’s Bay.

We cannot thank Tony at the Arncliffe Arms enough for his kindness and support. He cooked us a delicious evening meal, let us fill up with water and invited us back for breakfast. When the timings meant Andrew couldn’t sit down for breakfast at the pub, Tony very kindly made him a hot breakfast roll to take away and fuel the final day of his challenge. Thank you, Tony — your generosity gave Andrew and the support crew a wonderful boost when we needed it most.

Emma and Elliot are his support crew along the route today. At the finish, Sarah and Cerys will also be waiting to welcome him after seven remarkable days on the trail.

There is still another long day ahead across the North York Moors as Andrew completes Alfred Wainwright’s famous Coast-to-Coast route — and in considerably less time than Wainwright originally took!

Every painful step has been taken for a wonderful cause: raising money for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust and supporting the hospitals and services that change and save lives.

Although Andrew’s walking challenge finishes today, the fundraising certainly does not. Donations remain open, and the charity raffles and arrowhead auction will continue until the draws in October 2026.

One final push, Andrew. Robin Hood’s Bay is waiting — and we are all behind you!

Follow the final day, donate or enter the charity prize draws: https://walshyswalks.com

After a much-deserved dinner last night, we almost managed to eat outside in the sunshine. Unfortunately, the temperature soon dropped, so we moved inside and enjoyed our meal with Kathrin and Simon before they headed home to Essex.

Hazel dashed home to get some work done so that she could join Andrew again today, while support-crew members Emma and Elliot set off on the buses once more to move the motorhome to tonight’s penultimate stop of the challenge.

Day 6 sees Andrew walking from Ingleby Cross to Glaisdale, where we will be staying at the Arncliffe Arms.

Emma and Elliot spent the morning playing “catch the train and dash across the country” before finally being reunited with the car. They then set off to hunt down Andrew and Hazel, surprising them by appearing shortly after midday on top of Carr Ridge, with its stunning views.

The paved flagstone “steps” then formed part of Andrew’s 150-metre descent. After reaching the bottom, Elliot heroically carried Andrew’s backpack up the next two climbs to the following ridge.

Six days in, Andrew is still moving forward — helped enormously by the friends, family and support crew rallying around him. Just one more day to go!