A VETERAN of the annual Keswick to Barrow walk has set his sights on an unprecedented milestone after completing the route for a staggering 36th consecutive time.

John Robinson, from Ulverston, set off from the Keswick start for the first time in 1988, at the age of 11, and hasn't missed one since.

The BAE Systems Engineer even completed the postponed Resolution Cup during the dark days of Covid in May 2021 - and the rearranged September walk in the same year.

He walked on behalf of the committee as the last man home to sweep the route, keeping up his remarkable record.

He described the 2002 event, which was moved to July due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak, as the hardest trek he can remember due to it being 'an absolute scorcher'.

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The 46-year-old explained where his motivation comes from, saying: "Breaking records isn't why I do it.

"I'd not long since joined the scouts and they were putting a team in so I put my name down for it. I did it and got the bug.

"It's just one of my favourite days out of the year.

"You get to walk through some of the best parts of the Lake District.

"Walking past Grasmere at six or seven in the morning is just spectacular.

"And then walking down the side of Coniston, the clouds had all cleared by then, and the views are just amazing.

"I walked most of the way with my cousin Heather, who was doing her 19th, and my nephew Sam did it for the first time.

"What a fantastic job the committee and the organisers do – it’s such a well-organised event and I can see first-hand that it goes from strength to strength every year."

John said there are still three of four people ahead of him in terms of K2Bs completed, but nobody has yet completed the magic total of 50 – something he is confident of achieving.

"I'll be 60 for that one, so hopefully I can still manage it," he said.

"When I was younger I put some more decent times in but only ever eight or nine hours.

"I'm not really built for running it.

"I made ten hours and 52 minutes which was my best time for a few years."