A MAN has walked 600 miles of the Welsh coast to raise money for charity.

Tom Edgar, 29, and his dog Tegwen started the walk on August 19 in Swansea and finished on September 22 in Llandudno.

He is raising £5,000 for Parkinson's UK in honour of his Nana, Patricia Hart, from Gresford, and is only a few donations away from reaching his goal.

No stranger to long distance walks, Tom, also of Gresford but now living in London, has travelled and hiked extensively across far off places including south America and south east Asia but was still a stranger to many parts of his own country, so earlier this year he decided to reacquaint himself with his homeland along with his Cockapoo Tegwen.

Tom has been inspired to undertake the walk in honour of his Nana Pat who has been living with Parkinson's Disease for over 30 years. He is fundraising for Parkinson's UK which supports sufferers of the disease and their families, offering services such as counselling, legal advice as well as funding research to combat the disease and find a cure.

Tom has battled through 600 miles of rugged terrain, wild camping and cooking on his camp stove and walked on average 15 to 20 miles a day, except for one day a week when he rested his weary feet.

After the walk, Tom said: “600 miles of hiking in five weeks is nothing in comparison to the resilience that my Nana has shown throughout these years, she was my mental rock when times got tough."

"For a long time I've wanted to reconnect to Wales after living so long in busy and hectic London. I read about the completion of the Welsh coastal path a few years ago and ever since I've been organising this epic walk for Parkinson's UK.

"To be honest, I was never a keen walker, at least not long distance but this is why I thought it would be such a worthy challenge.

"Since finishing this journey though I am excited to do some more walking, it's such a rewarding feeling to apply some effort, to get the adrenaline racing and then be rewarded with a beautiful sight in front of you. Although I'd prefer to finish my day of walking with a nice B&B and pub meal rather than a cold tent and camping stove meal."

"The best bit was overlooking Skomer Island and watching the seals below play in the water with their white, young pups sleeping on the beach. The worst bit was attempting to put up my tent on a beach outside of Llansteffan.

"It wouldn't hold up, I had to walk for two miles in the dark and pouring rain to the nearest pub. The barman allowed me to sleep on his couch for the night, so I could dry off and continue my walk the next day. A classic example of Welsh hospitality."

Meanwhile his Nana, Pat, said: “I’m so proud of Tom for what he has done for me and so many other families. I was so happy to meet him at the finish line and give him a big hug."

Tom has blogged the journey and shared photos at tomandtegwen.com where you can also find links for their Facebook and Instagram including a link to the JustGiving page (justgiving.com/fundraising/tomandtegwen) if you wish to donate.