Community / Local Rotary man to walk famous pilgrimage route to raise funds for charity
Photo: Hans J Marter/Shetland News
A RETIRED civil servant and member of the Shetland branch of the Rotary Club is to set off on a 500 mile walk through northern Spain to raise funds for charity.
Paul Bendix, from Vidlin, will be travelling by ferry, plane, bus and train to reach the French town of Saint Jean Pied De Port, the starting point of the famous pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
From here he will set off on 1 September to reach the burial place of St James in Santiago by the middle of October.
The 64-year old is raising funds for Prostate Scotland, a charity the local Rotary Club has been supporting for many years.
“Prostate cancer is something that affects men generally, they are not too good in responding to the early indicators,” he said.
“The Rotary Club has had an ongoing relationship with Prostate Scotland during the last couple of years.
“We found that we could no longer do the ‘Fastest Man in Shetland’ fundraiser for logistical reasons, so I wanted to do something to raise funds for the charity as we had done in previous years.”
Paul has been walking the roads around his Lunnasting home all summer in preparation for the 500 mile hike which should take him around 40 days to complete.
He said he didn’t see himself as a pilgrim; but as he had never done anything similar, he felt attracted to the idea of walking the distance.
“I know a bit about what happened in Medieval Spain (…), so it will be interesting to see northern Spain after having been to southern Spain a few years ago.
“But it is more the challenge that attracts me; 500 miles, 40 odd days …”
Asked how he will be coping with the high temperatures – only last week the region recorded a high of more than 40 degrees – he said he would happily be dodging the heat by taking public transport to the next stage
However, as September moves into October temperatures should start to ease to create comfortable walking conditions.
Paul’s seven-week long challenge can be supported by donating online here.
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