Henfield man, 80, aims to break 874-mile walking world record and raise thousands for hospice after he was inspired by a novel

Anthony Bishop, who has completed about 30 marathons and ultra-marathons, has set a target of £5,000 on his JustGiving page. Visit www.justgiving.com/page/anthony-bishop-1689759976574.

He said he got the idea after reading the novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.

Anthony said: “I was driving by myself, and I turned on the radio. I heard an author discussing her book.”

The story is about a man who walks from the south-west of England to Berwick-upon-Tweed to visit a former colleague receiving end-of-life care at a hospice.

Anthony said that after he read the book he thought he could do the journey himself. But he decided to go even further when he found out that a 76-year-old currently holds the world record for being the oldest person to walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Anthony became determined to break it.

He said: “I have never completed such a huge task, but I feel confident I can do it.”

Anthony has had plenty of experience with gruelling runs and hikes. He has already trekked to Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail and Everest base camp and he and his daughter also ran the Cape Odyssey over the mountains near Cape Town. This, he said, involved running for five days ‘at an average of a marathon a day’.

Anthony explained that his sister died at St Barnabas House in 2012 at age 64, adding: “She was treated so well there, and I was impressed.”

He said he will start his walk on Friday, September 1, and aims to arrive at Land’s End around October 31.

Walking is now Anthony’s main type of exercise after he developed a problem with his pelvic bones due to off-road running and mountain ascents.

He said he does not listen to music as he is walking so he hopes to chat to people along the way. He said he will walk alone, unless someone wants to join him for a day, and there will be a support vehicle. He will start at John O’Groats, heading through the east coast of Scotland through Inverness, Edinburgh, then into Carlisle, then down western England and into Cornwall.