AFTER eight days and 220 blister-inducing miles, a group of fundraisers from Tattenhall Cricket Club have completed their charity trek to Lord’s.

It took a year of meticulous planning to organise the sponsored walk, which began at the village club’s home ground and finished up with a triumphant arrival at the ‘Home of Cricket’ in London just over a week later.

Sponsorship money is still being counted and club officials are confident of reaching their target of £10,000. The cash will go towards improving facilities at Tattenhall CC, with 25% of the final total donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.

Tattenhall CC chairman Mel Dobson said: “It all went really well. It’s really united the club and it was great to see so many people involved.”

A troublesome knee injury restricted Mel’s participation in the walk, although he was present for the final two-mile stretch on Saturday.

The trek had begun the previous Saturday (October 22) when walkers set off from Tattenhall in the early hours of the morning. For safety reasons, the walk followed canal towpaths rather than roads and was split into daily legs of about 30 miles, with a group of 61 walkers involved at various intervals through the course of the week.

Three walkers – second XI players Anthony Rouse and Josh Spraggs and third team player Martin Sharp – completed the entire 220 miles from start to finish.

“That was a great achievement,” said club chairman Mel. “A few others tried to do the full distance but they were unable to due to blisters and injuries.”

The youngest walker was seven-year-old Hugh Hudson while the three oldest were all in their 70s – club president George Richards, vice-president Nick Toosey and life member Mike Reece, who chaired the special sub-committee which organised the event.

Mike and Nick were involved 25 years ago when the club carried out a similar fundraising challenge – a continuous walk to Lord’s which was completed during the course of one weekend.

About 20 walkers were present for the final leg of the 2011 challenge. Upon reaching their final destination, they immediately headed en masse to the Lord’s Tavern pub to rest their weary legs and take in some much-needed refreshments.

Donations can still be made by calling Mel Dobson on 07799 476108.