Mount Salon, Wellington, owner Alison Cooney set out on a 630-mile walk yesterday (Wednesday) in memory of her cousin who died of meningitis last year.

Alison is spending the next 30 days trekking Britain’s longest national trail, the South West Coastal Path, from Minehead to Poole, in aid of the Meningitis Research Foundation.

She will be walking an average of 20 miles a day, aiming to raise £3,000 in memory of her cousin, Julie Perkins, who died suddenly at the age of 51.

“Julie sadly died three days after saying she felt like she had the flu,” Alison said. “Something seemingly so harmless turned out to be meningococcal septicaemia.”

Friends and family will be supporting Alison by walking sections of the route with her, and others have offered their homes for overnight accommodation or paid for hotel and bed and breakfast rooms. Some have even offered to wash her clothes.

Alison is funding the trip herself so all the money raised will go to Meningitis Research.

She added: “I have previously undertaken sections of the coastal path but never attempted the whole route.

“In the past I have walked the Great Wall of China and scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Mount Toubkal in Morocco for charity but this time I wanted to keep things a little closer to home, while doing something that would push me physically and mentally.

“I believe this time out from my busy work life in the salon will do just that.”

The Mount raised £3,000 for Meningitis Research when it held a black-tie ball celebrating 15 years since its foundation at Woodlands Castle at Ruishton.

Alison said around the world 1,000 people die every day from meningitis, although Julie would not have been classified as high risk unlike children and young adults.

Anyone who would like to contribute to Meningtitis Research should visit Alison’s Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/alison-cooney2

She will also be keeping a video diary of the walk which can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0CCxiXV8oMuBejRoaZYwpA

Meningitis Research fundraises to invest in research, campaign for vaccines, provide symptom information and support those already affected.