A WOMAN from York raised more than £4,000 for charity by taking part in a 50-mile trek along the Great Wall of China.

Karen Heaton, from Monkgate, took part in the trek to raise money for the Deanne Gee Memorial Fund, which helps provide specialist equipment for children with disabilities.

Karen was part of a group of 29 fundraisers who walked about eight hours a day for five days, and climbed more than 9,000 steps along the Great Wall.

She said: “I really wasn’t prepared for that. I knew there were going to be steps, but I hadn’t imagined quite how many there would be, so I was very glad to have done all the training I had. One day we walked 1,000 steps just to get onto the Great Wall.

“There weren’t any low points, really. There were parts that I found very hard work, but then that was all part of the challenge and I didn’t expect it to be easy.”

Karen works as a physiotherapy assistant at schools and the child development centre at York Hospital.

She said the challenge was an amazing event, and walked on every section of the wall shown in the photo above.

She said: “We walked along reconstructed sections of the wall and also on some original sections, which I much preferred.

“The scenery was awesome and I felt extremely privileged to be in such a beautiful part of the world while doing it for such a worthwhile cause.

“The point where this picture was taken was one of the most beautiful sections we visited and is particularly memorable.

“I actually cried at the absolute beauty of my surroundings. “It’s very difficult to describe and the photographs don’t do it justice, but it will stay in my mind forever.”

Karen organised a meal at Maxi’s Chinese restaurant to raise funds to enable her to take part in the trek, and prepared by training at the gym and walking around the city walls and the White Horse at Kilburn.