Aged 62 and recently retired, Jim Morton is currently walking around the entire coastline of Great Britain and is now tackling Wales on the last leg of his amazing journey.

He started out from his hometown of Penistone in Yorkshire in April of last year, has already racked up more than 7,500 miles and, having reached the Lizard and Land’s End about a month ago, he has now ‘turned for home’ with about 1,000 miles to complete his remarkable trek.

You may have already seen Jim walking along the Welsh coast. He has recently completed the Gower area. Yesterday he walked from Laugharne towards Saundersfoot, staying at the Glynafon campsite in Pleasant Valley last night. This morning he set off on the next section towards Tenby, reaching Freshwater East this evening, so say hello if you are there tonight.

Today is day 494 of his walk, so Jim will shortly be celebrating his 500th day on the road!

Ex-Navy man Jim celebrated his 62nd birthday on his travels and hopes to complete the walk in September/October. He is raising money via the walk for the Gurkha Welfare Trust, as they rebuild villages devastated by an earthquake in Nepal. He has already raised more than £24,000 for the organisation, which is enough to build three new houses.

Jim has also retained an interest and connection with the Gurkhas ever since he began his naval life on HMS Gurkha. Naval history has given Jim the chance to meet some senior officials and former colleagues en route and to relive some of his memories on board, including a visit to the site of his first day in the services, back in 1976, and a chance meeting with his first-ever captain.

He began his trip by walking up the north-west coast of England, followed by the even more challenging west coast of Scotland. He then wended his way across the top of the country before coming down the east coast of Great Britain, having crossed the border back into England in January. He has apparently had an eventful time on the road, including being airlifted to hospital in Inverness after a cliff fall, almost being swept away in flood water and rescuing trapped sheep… to give just three examples of his remarkable journey to date. We hope to hear more from Jim soon.

To follow Jim’s travels, follow his facebook page ‘I may be gone a while’.

The Gurkha Welfare Trust ensures that Gurkha veterans, their widows and their wider communities are able to live with dignity in Nepal, through the provision of financial, medical and community aid. To sponsor Jim on behalf of the Gurkha Welfare Trust, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/richard-morton11