A RETIRED York vicar and her husband have set off on their 1,200-mile walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

The former Vicar of Heslington, the Reverend Nancy Eckersley, 60, and her husband John, 68, are hoping to raise £45,000 for Christian Aid through their five-month trek on a circuitous route across Britain.

As The Press reported last month, they are looking for £10,000 in donations, with the European Commission prepared to match-fund that with an extra £35,000 to help pay for clean water supplies and farming improvements in poverty-stricken Sierra Leone.

The couple’s walk began in style as they were among the invited guests at the opening of the newly refurbished Land’s End hotel, enjoying a meal of lobster, oysters and cocktails courtesy of the hotel’s management before beginning their walk.

Nancy was also interviewed by BBC Radio Cornwall about the aid project before departing.