Wales Coast Path: Walker does 75th birthday challenge

Heading south from Aberystwyth in Ceredigion

A 75-year old man is celebrating his birthday by finishing walking the 870-mile (1,400 km) Wales Coast Path.

Ian Mitchell from Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, decided to go for it on his 74th birthday, raising £7,000 for charity, starting on 15 August 2021.

"I'd set myself a challenge and went public on it which meant that I really did have to do it," he said.

One year on, he finished the final eight-mile stretch from Southerndown with family and friends on Friday.

"I didn't want to become a couch potato," Ian, an accountant, told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

He said he had "always loved the coast" so it gave him the opportunity to discover the rest of it.

His verdict? "It was fantastic."

Last leg... Ian Mitchell heading home to Llantwit Major

"But I went through it piecemeal, taking each stage whenever it was convenient so it meant that I was criss-crossing Wales, up to Anglesey one week, down to Pembrokeshire next.

"Generally, the logistics of getting yourself started and finished at the walks was the challenge, more than the walking itself."

It began and ended at Llantwit Major with his partner, Elin, but they were joined on the final leg by family, friends and colleagues.

Mr Mitchell now plans to explore more of the areas he discovered on the walk, with the Llŷn Peninsula among his highlights.

"I had no idea that there were so many castles in Wales so I think I'd like to go back and discover those," he said.

Wales Coast Path, which officially opened 10 years ago, begins in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, and ends across the border in Chester, Cheshire.

• FANCY A STROLL?: Welsh walks to try this summer

• WILD MOUNTAINS OF SNOWDONIA : Five farming families open their gates and share their lives