Yorkshire man legally classed as blind walks length of Britain for charity

A man from Harrogate, who has been legally classed as blind, is walking the entire length of Great Britain to raise money for the charity which helped him come to terms with his disability.
Richard Simpson is walking from John o' Groats to Land's End to raise money for the charity which helped himRichard Simpson is walking from John o' Groats to Land's End to raise money for the charity which helped him
Richard Simpson is walking from John o' Groats to Land's End to raise money for the charity which helped him

Richard Simpson set off from John O’Groats on May 21 and has covered more than 160 miles, while battling heavy rain, wind burn, blisters and uneven terrain, and camped out in freezing temperatures in the Scottish Highlands.

The 60-year-old, who is aiming to complete the walk by reaching Land's End within two months, is legally classed as blind as degenerative glaucoma has left him with just 20 per cent of the vision in his right eye.

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He is also raising money for Royal National Institute of Blind People, who have helped him retain his independence and deal with his life-changing diagnosis.

“I’ll eventually lose all my sight and I wanted to do this before I lost it all. It’s on my bucket list,” he said.

“You never think it is going to happen to you, but it can happen to anyone really. In this country, something like 250 people start to lose their eyesight everyday.”

He added: “If a severely sight impaired person can walk from John O’Groats to Lands End, then that just shows people what we’re capable of.

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“Just because you’ve lost your sight, it doesn’t mean you can’t do anything.”

The former support worker, who recently passed Aviemore in Scotland, has done most of the walk alone and stuck to the roads and cycle paths, but he is due to be joined by friends when he reaches Yorkshire

After finishing his walk, he plans to move abroad and teach English as a foreign language.

You can make a donation by visiting Mr Simpson's Just Giving page.