A BRAVE Ulverston woman walked across the Great Wall of China in memory of her much-loved mother.

Kerry Sharp took on the challenge after her mother passed away in 2013 having battled against Neurofibromatosis Type 2 - a condition where tumours grow on the nervous system.

What makes Kerry's decision to walk 60km of one of the Wonders of the World even more exceptional is that she too suffers from the hereditary condition, along with several other family members.

In fact, she was supposed to make the trip last year but had to postpone after undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumour.

The walk, which lasted five days, has so far raised £3,290 for the Neuro Foundation.

Speaking of her experiences in the Orient, Kerry, 36, said: "It was brilliant - really good. Mum died in 2013 and I wanted to do something in her memory. The longest day was a 16km walk and it was much harder than you would think because it was really warm, which made things much tougher - but I absolutely loved it.

"It's very undulating, there's a lot of ups and downs."

It was not just the conditions that proved difficult as, despite that stretch of the Great Wall being located entirely within the boundary of Beijing, the accommodation was often very basic.

After a long day trekking in searing heat the hostels the group stayed in were not exactly five star, promising merely the three basics - water, a bed and electricity - but at least she had her friend Susan Botterill, also from Ulverston, for moral support.

According to Kerry, her experiences of living in South Lakeland helped her enormously when it came to tackling the Chinese terrain.

She said: "I have always enjoyed walking up the Lakes so I didn't need to do too much extra training. I have also taken up running since the operation so I got my fitness levels up quite high as well."

But adventure-seeking Kerry is not done yet.

She has plans to take part in next year's London Marathon and is setting her sights on one day climbing Machu Picchu in Peru.

Donations are still being taken and more information can be found at www.justgiving.com/Kerry-Sharp2