Fundraisers to walk from Haddenham.. to Haddenham

Stephen Thompson (left) and Andrew Wilding are walking from Haddenham to Haddenham

Two fundraisers are putting their best feet forward on a 90-mile (145km) walk between two villages of the same name.

Villagers from Haddenham in Cambridgeshire are aiming to raise thousands of pounds by walking to Haddenham in Buckinghamshire.

They are raising money for a local library and a children's charity.

Stephen Thompson and Andrew Wilding will set off on Monday, with more people expected to join them along the way.

Villagers are walking between two villages with the same name to raise money

Mr Thompson, 51, chairman of Haddenham Parish Council in Cambridgeshire, said he was looking for ways of raising money and hit on the idea after learning of a similar trek 24 years ago.

He explained how in 2000, a group walked from Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, to Haddenham in Cambridgeshire.

He will walk 20 miles towards the Buckinghamshire namesake on Monday with Andrew Wilding, 34.

He said more people, including a nine-year-old boy, would join the trek, which is due to end on Saturday.

'Band of chalk'

Mr Thompson said walkers were following a route called the Old Chalk Way.

"This is a national cycle path that runs from The Wash up in Norfolk to the Jurassic Coast down in Dorset," Mr Thompson, who is originally from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, said.

"It follows the band of chalk that runs across the country."

He said walkers would trek towards Royston, Hertfordshire, around Luton, then reach Haddenham.

Money raised would be donated to the library in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire and to the charity Holly's Active Stars.