‘PINK Hat Man’ Chris Stanbury traversed Exmoor and parts of West Somerset this week in his attempt to set two world records for walking the length of the country and back again.

Seventy-year-old Mr Stanbury, whose moniker comes from his habit of wearing a pink hat, hopes to raise £70,000 from his walk for the charity Hope and Homes for Children.

Mr Stanbury left Land’s End on April 3 and reached the western edge of Exmoor on Monday (April 14).

On Tuesday (April 15) he crossed Exmoor, passing Dunkery Beacon, Wheddon Cross, Luxborough, and Roadwater, before stopping the night in Monksilver.

He set off again on Wednesday, travelling through Bicknoller and the Quantock Hills.

In total, Mr Stanbury will walk nearly 2,500 miles in about five months, or 144 days, from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back again, following a different and more direct return route which should see him finish on August Bank Holiday Monday.

The start of Chris Stanbury's mammoth charity fund-raising walk.
The start of Chris Stanbury's mammoth charity fund-raising walk. ( )

Mr Stanbury said: “By using long distance paths and National Trails I am hopeful that most of the route will be reasonably well marked and well walked.

“That should mean less fighting my way through brambles and blocked footpaths.

“I want to achieve something memorable following my 70th birthday and my walk aims to raise £70,000 which will transform the lives of children currently trapped in orphanages.

“Every child needs somebody who supports them and takes care of them, who wants them to be happy.

“Every child needs to know they are loved and that they belong.

“Children never belong in orphanages.

“They do not protect children, they harm them.

“And they are never necessary.

“Every child needs a family.”

Chris Stanbury aims to raise £70,000 for a children's charity by walking the length of the country and back again.
Chris Stanbury aims to raise £70,000 for a children's charity by walking the length of the country and back again. ( )

Mr Stanbury said more than 5.4 million children currently lived in orphanages, even though 80 per cent of them were not orphans.

He said Hope and Homes for Children was working in nine countries with teams of skilled, local child protection professionals with the aim of returning as many children as they could to families.

Hope and Homes for Children has been working since 1994 to improve the lives of young people in orphanages and is supported by famous names including actors Dame Kristen Scott Thomas and Gary Oldman, and broadcasters Natalie Pinkham and Nick Hewer.

Mr Stanbury, who lives on a pink colour electric narrowboat called ‘elektra’, spent months planning his once-in-a-lifetime trip.

He hopes to earn two world records, one for being the oldest person to walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats and back again, a feat known as ‘LeJoGLe’, and the other for being the fastest to do it, because nobody has previously claimed it.

Mr Stanbury will be walking back through Somerset on the return leg later in the summer which will follow a route along the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal for part of the way.

Anybody who wants to support Mr Stanbury’s fund-raising, which has so far brought in nearly £12,500, can find his JustGiving page online.

His journey can be followed live on a website.