A GRIEVING Wellington pensioner will spend his holiday walking 630 miles for charity in memory of his late wife.

Steve Disney will tackle the South West Coast Path in March 2016 to raise funds for the national charity Brain Tumour Research.

He will be remembering Janet, his wife of 36 years, and has set himself a target of raising tens of thousands of pounds to fund vital research.

Janet died at the age of 74 in June 2015 just weeks after being diagnosed with a primary malignant brain tumour. Steve is now learning to cope on his own and is comforted by his faith and the fellowship of the United Reformed Church in Wellington, where he and Janet were married.

As well as collecting sponsorship, Steve hopes his quest will raise awareness of brain tumours, which kill more adults and children under 40 than any other cancer yet receive just 1% of the national spend on cancer research.

Steve, 63, hopes walkers will join him for sections of the route which will take him from Somerset to Dorset, giving him the opportunity to hear their stories along the way.

His plans echo the best-selling novel The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry in which a pensioner steps out to post a letter to a past love who is dying of cancer. Instead, he walks 600 miles to see her, collecting a band of well-wishers along the way.

Steve said: “It will be less than a year since I lost Janet but I have a positive outlook on life, I am keeping myself busy and getting on okay. Because of our strong faith, Janet and I had no fear of dying. I will miss her every day, of course, but I am determined that some good will come of this.”

Janet was the eldest of 11 children and lived her whole life in Wellington. She had two sons from an earlier marriage and two grandchildren. She met Steve when they were both working at the town’s Dairy Crest depot.

Steve’s challenge will follow the longest National Trail in the UK, starting at Minehead in Somerset and snaking along the coastline of Exmoor before taking in the coastline of north Devon. From there he will walk along the entire length of the Cornish coast, crossing the mouth of the River Tamar and make his way around the Dorset coastline to the finish point at Poole Harbour. He aims to cover between nine and 17 miles a day over seven weeks and will stay at 52 bed and breakfasts.

Steve said: “My family will wave me off and my church family will be there at the finish. Along the way, I am hoping that people will join me. I am looking forward to seeing the beautiful scenery and hope I will meet interesting people along the way and hear about their lives.

"No doubt Janet would have thought I was mad to take on a challenge like this but I am looking forward to it. I will always miss her, of course, but I know that she will be right there with me.”

Brain Tumour Research funds a network of Centres of Excellence including one at Plymouth University where scientists are focused on understanding more about brain tumours in order to improve outcomes for patients and find a cure.

The charity is striving to fund a network of seven dedicated centres while challenging the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more in brain tumour research.

To find out more about Steve’s journey or make a donation visit https://www.justgiving.com/steve-disney/www.braintumourresearch.org