A FAMILY from York have taken part in a 180-mile walk across the country to raise money for charity.

The Cornish family - Peter, 37, Sarah, 41, Seth, 12, Tilda, 11, Harriet, nine, Hannah-Elizabeth, seven, and Esme, four - are walking from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorkshire, over 16 days.

They have raised more than £3,800 for RAY - Refugee Action York - and said prior to the challenge, “we were not a hiking family, more of a ‘day out’ kind of family”, so they did “some serious training beforehand”.

Sarah said: “We chose to do this all because all the news articles around refugees had the kids asking a lot of questions, which led us all wandering how it must really feel. This is one way we thought we could help and try to understand and connect with what kind of life is forced upon other people.

“The first few days left us all in a bit of a shock as the Lake District is definitely the toughest end. We climbed at least four mountains and the weather was not always on our side. I remember one day as we were driven to a local pub after a walk, I got out of the car and my whole body was so afraid I would hike again that I went into shock. I was shaking with cold for about 30 minutes, even wrapped in a jumper and blanket.” Sarah said the children had been amazing throughout the challenge, but noted the youngest, Esme, “has cheated a little, as she only has half size legs”. She said: “She was determined to walk up at least one mountain completely unaided - I believe there had been the promise of a jammy dodger at the top. The rest of the children have walked every step of it on their own. Lizzie, who is only seven, has barely even complained, she just kept plodding on. Last Sunday they all decided to do the walk into Richmond at top speed as their grandma - who is crewing for us alongside their grandad - had promised to take them all to the park afterwards, where they played for almost two hours after hiking.”

The family finished their walk on Saturday, and planned to have a “completely guilt-free” night in with ice cream and a film following a celebration and a play in the sea. To donate, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/c2cfamilies