Mansfield man walks coast-to-coast in memory of son

John lost his son Jake in 2020

A man has completed a coast-to-coast walk of almost 200 miles (321km) in memory of his son.

John Bell, from Mansfield, lost his son Jake, 15, in 2020 in what the coroner ruled was an accidental death.

Mr Bell, a former soldier, now hopes to raise funds to set up a retreat camp and work with charities to help other young people.

He said: "After losing your child, all you can do is try to make the world a better place."

Wild camping

Mr Bell, a former Royal Engineer who now works in security, said he began the walk at St Bees, in Cumbria on 16 July, before walking through three national parks - the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors, as well as the Pennines - to reach Robin Hood's Bay.

The walk took him seven days, one hour and 45 minutes and involved a mixture of sleeping at campsites and wild camping.

Mr Bell said he hoped to make the world a better place

He said: "I was carrying 27kg on my back, but I also had to carry an extra five litres of water due to the heatwave.

"When you are walking through the national parks, you don't know where your next water source is coming from."

He said he had raised more than £2,500 from the expedition so far, which he hopes to put towards the purchase of a site for a retreat for young people.