AN Ulverston man has raised thousands of pounds for St Mary’s Hospice by walking 88-miles of the Oxford Canal in the memory of his late wife.

Mike Hopkins, 75, from Tyson Square, took on the challenge of walking along the Canal over nine days to raise money for the hospice that had cared for his beloved wife Sheila who passed away due to Parkinson’s disease in January.

To repay to hospice for its kindness and to honour the legacy of Sheila, Mike completed an 88-mile walk along the length of the Oxford Canal from the city centre to Coventry Canal Basin. He completed the route in nine days and raised £2700 for St Mary’s Hospice.

Mike said: “Sheila was the Queen of the Sky. She did a skydive herself for her 80th birthday and raised over £2000 for it.

“I’ve lived in Ulverston for ten years as my step-daughter lives here.

“My wife passed away in St Mary’s on January 23 when she was 83.

“The last four weeks she spent at the hospice and I wanted to pay them back for all their care and attention. They’re amazing people and they rely on charity.

“You never know when you might need them yourself someday.

“The 88-miles was really enjoyable. I did it in about nine days. The weather was kind, cloudy but cool. It only got wet once but it wasn’t so bad.

“I was able to stay with relative, so I could just be dropped off where I left off each day and continue.

“I started on August 18 and finished on August 27.

“I enjoyed every minute and I was really pleased with the whole thing. I love the canals in general. It’s an amazing system and it shows the genius of the people who built it 200 years ago.

“I just want to thank everyone who contributed. We got an excellent response from the general public. We had a little rock and roll night in our community centre for Halloween. A big thank you to Margaret Marshal who did an amazing job and raised over £250 with prizes contributed from local outlets.”

Karl Connor, head of communications and community engagement at St Mary's Hospice said: "People might not realise this, but eight out of every ten patients we've looked after this year had their treatment paid for by donations from people like Mike.

"Lot's of people support us by doing different things, and often they do it in memory of a loved one.

"Mike's canal walk sounds like it was seriously hard work, but the fact he completed it and smashed his fundraising target is something he can be really proud of.

"I thank him on behalf of everyone at St Mary's.

"We are honoured that he chose to raise money for us in Sheila's memory."