THE church at Thornton-in-Craven welcomed three walkers as they made they way through the district last week on their way from one end of the country to the other, from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

Cliff Andrade and Martha Partridge started the 2,000km walk in early June and hope to arrive in Land’s End sometime in late August or early September.

A friend, photographer, Roei Greenberg, joined Cliff and Martha for a few days and may collaborate on a future art project of the walk.

Cliff, from Bristol, who set off with the target of raising £6,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, the Royal Trinity Hospital, and Young Minds, has called his walk ‘a big walk with a malfunctioning bottom’ because cancer treatment has left him with an extreme form of IBS.

He and his colleagues are carrying everything they need on their backs, and are staying overnight in the grounds of churches along the route, with the agreement of the parish vicars. On Monday last week, they arrived in Thornton on the same day the new parish rector, the Rev Robert Findlow was welcomed to the parish in a ceremony with the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, and the Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven Jonathan Gough.

Cliff said the walk was going well and although the weather had been hot, it was preferable to rain.

“People often ask if I am enjoying it, but that makes no sense to me. The walk is so long it becomes your existence, and so asking if I am enjoying it is like asking if I am enjoying life - well, yes, but there are always challenges and ups and downs.

“Plus, with my disability, its not just about the challenge of going for a long walk. It is also about learning to live with a new body and exploring how I can function in the world again. Weather is tough but I’d far rather this than rain.”

To find out more about Cliff’s walk, go to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/cliffywiffywalk

Martha is raising money for the domestic abuse charity Womankind and her donation page is: https://localgiving.org/fundraising/marthawalksforwomankind/