A BARROW resident is to walk in Alfred Wainwright’s footsteps to raise money in memory of his father.

Gary Rushworth is taking on Wainwright’s Pennine Journey to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK, in memory of his dad John who was diagnosed with vascular dementia in February 2006.

The 61-year-old man is undertaking Wainwright’s Pennine Journey on its 80th anniversary after completing the Pennine Way for charity last year.

He chose to do the Pennine Journey because he wanted to raise money to help defeat dementia, a condition that his father lived with for over 11 years before he passed away in October 2017.

Gary, who has lived in Barrow-in-Furness for over 20 years, aims to raise £500 for Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity.

This money will go towards pioneering work across Britain, focusing on preventing and treating dementia, while also raising awareness of the devastating condition.

John Rushworth, born in West Yorkshire, lived in Carlisle for 62 years. Before retiring, he was head of motor engineering at Carlisle Technical College.

Gary said: “I have walked in Alfred Wainwright’s footsteps many times completing his 214 fells of the Lake District, the Coast-to-Coast, and the Pennine Way.

"It was when on a training walk for the latter last year as I sat on a seat, at East Gill Force, which commemorates Wainwright’s Pennine Journey I took the decision to make it a memory walk to mark its 80th anniversary.

"Later that year, when my father died, it was only natural for me to remember him in this walk be raising funds to tackle the illness that blighted the last years of his life.”

Gary will stay close to Wainwright’s original route he sets off from Settle on September 24 heading north to Hadrian’s Wall on the Eastern side of the Pennines and returning to Settle on the Western side for October 4.

Gillian Edwards, North West Regional Fundraising Officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:

“We’re so grateful to Gary for supporting Alzheimer’s Research UK. Dementia affects a huge proportion of the population – one in three people over 65 in the UK will die with some form of the condition. Fantastic fundraising efforts like this will help us to defeat dementia sooner.”

To sponsor Gary visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/garyspenninejourney.