Barrow man sets off for 1,800-mile walk in wife's memory

Mr Rushworth said he tried to mark the couple's anniversaries with something special

A man is starting a 1,800-mile (2,897km) walk in memory of his wife on the anniversary of their first meeting.

Gary Rushworth's wife Moira died in 2020 aged 57 after being diagnosed with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) when she was 39.

The 64-year-old from Barrow, Cumbria, will be crossing the UK from coast to coast twice and walking from John O'Groats to Land's End.

Money he raises will go towards a clinical trial for progressive MS.

Thursday marks the couple's first meeting when he went into the Carlisle Co-op - where she was manager - to buy a tin of chicken soup.

He will visit the shop along with other meaningful places such as Malham Cove in Yorkshire - where he proposed - and the Darlington church where they were married in 1987.

Mr Rushworth aims to complete his challenge on 25 September

He said: "What I try and do on anniversaries is do something special, together with my daughters, so we're not getting too emotional in a sad way about what has been lost but creating something special for us, with Moira in spirit, to take forward."

The couple's daughters Emily, 26, and Katie, 22, are supporting their father in his challenge which he hopes to complete on 25 September, which would have been his wife's 60th birthday.

"It was obviously heartbreakingly sad what happened to Moira but she was always so positive and always had a smile on her face and laughed when she could, even though it wasn't always easy," Mr Rushworth said.

"It is important for me, and our daughters, to keep that memory of Moira.

"I just want to do whatever I can to bring about the change needed to give MS sufferers the treatment they need."

The money raised will go towards the Octopus clinical trial, which is funded by the MS Society, and aims to transform the way treatments are tested, meaning they could be delivered more quickly.