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With nine Coast to Coast walks under his belt, and thousands of pounds raised over the last 30 years, this 10th attempt would prove to be the toughest so far. Four days in, and 300 meters away from a bed for the night, a fall would see this walker having to dig deep.

A former police inspector, and member of Market Rasen’s Bayons Lodge, has returned home after an impressive 10th Coast to Coast walk.

David Day, 69, has successfully completed the 192-mile trek on 9 previous occasions, but this year would see him put to the test.

It was on day four out of 12, and, as David said, “I had been walking for more than nine hours that day. I had gone from Patterdale in the Lakes and had almost arrived at my accommodation for the night in Shap.”

David at the start of his 10th Coast to Coast Walk

Just 300 metres from his accommodation, David took a horrendous fall that would leave his head pouring with blood, and a concerned hostess insisting that he got to A+E.

“I’m on blood thinners,” said David, “and I knew that meant I’d have to have a CT scan”.

After 5 hours in Carlise A+E, David was given the green light to continue. Despite worries from his wife and friends, David was determined to continue and complete his 10th Coast to Coast.

David explained, “This year, I wasn’t walking for charity. This year it was for me, and there was no way I wasn’t going to finish.”

David's injuries after his fall on day four.

Averaging 17 miles a day, it would be another eight days before David arrived at Robin Hoods Bay. Here, he stuck to tradition by throwing a pebble from St Bees into the North Sea.

While this year has been challenging, it doesn’t seem to have put David off the idea of going for his 11th. “I might not do it next year. I know consecutive years can be hard,” said David, “But I’m sure that this year wasn’t my last, and I’ll be back out there again,”.

Dogged determination as local Freemason completes 10th Coast to Coast walk