Engineer to walk 100 miles to Eastbourne pub for charity

A project engineer is planning to walk 100 miles to a pub in Eastbourne to raise money for charity.

Cameron Roll, whose dad Jeff owns the Phoenix in Seaside Road, said he will make the trip from Aylesbury with two friends on July 8.

After setting off at around 4-5am, the group is hoping to arrive at the pub by 9pm the following day.

The group is hoping to complete the walk in 40 hours.

Mr Roll, who lived in Eastbourne for a year when he was younger, said he decided to raise money with physical challenges during lockdown.

He said, “I wanted to go out and have a purpose this summer and I wanted to do something good.”

Mr Roll, 23, and his friends are planning to take on a number of challenges, including a two-mile open water swim, half-marathon and 10k ‘tough mudder’.

The project engineer added, “I thought it would be a good time to go out and raise some money.”

The group, including Josh Edworthy, Scott Davis and Francis Ashley, has raised around £750 on their joint fundraising page so far.

Mr Roll said although Mr Edworthy is not joining the walk to Eastbourne, he will take part in other events.

While Mr Roll is raising money for the National Autistic Society, other members of the group are supporting the British Heart Foundation, Myeloma UK and Erb’s Palsy UK.

The group is hoping to raise £2,000 between them.

Mr Roll said, “I have done little fundraising events [before] but nothing this extreme.

“The first event is the swimming, then the walk. At the moment I have just been swimming every single day and trying to get some walking in.

“It is going to be 40 hours of walking so I have got to get my body used to that.

“It is nice to train for a purpose, for an actual cause.”

Mr Roll’s dad Jeff said he is ‘very, very proud’ of his son.

He added, “I really do think he is a bit crazy, but I think he is doing it for a great cause.”

READ THIS:
Teenager found dead in Eastbourne park

How busy is my GP? The 17 surgeries with the most patients per doctor in East Sussex

Laptops stolen from Eastbourne town centre store