NORTH Wilts Golf Club captain Steve Iles ended an 87-mile charity walk with severe blisters but was delighted that he raised £2,000.

Mr Iles, 65, of Oxford Road, Calne, set himself the challenge of walking the Ridgeway National Trail non-stop.

Despite getting soaked through by rain and blisters on his feet, he completed it.

Mr Iles, a builder, said he was indebted to friends, golf club members and family for joining him en route, which gave him the lift he needed.

He said: “It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I had people walking with me, including Matt Taylor of Cherhill who walked for the last 45 miles. He does endurance running and he kept me going.”

Mr Iles set off at 5am on Friday, June 21, from Ivinghoe Beacon, Bucking-hamshire. He wore a head torch to enable him to see during the night. It rained for three hours between Didcot and Wantage. Three quarters of the way into the walk, Mr Iles got blisters on the balls of both his feet and the heel of his right foot.

His feet were bandaged up at Chiseldon but at Ogbourne St George, with nine miles to go, Mr Iles did not think he would be able to continue.

But his daughters – Josie, who lives in Swindon, and Debbie and Jenny, who both live in London – arrived and gave him the final encouragement he needed.

He said: “I was determined to finish it.”

Mr Iles finished the walk just before 6pm on June 22, in 36 hours and 57 minutes.

He said: “I did a bit of training for it, but not enough. I feel pretty good I achieved it, it was an experience.

“If I were to do it again I would try to harden my feet up.”

Mr Iles walked to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity in memory of Betty McCarthy, a member of the golf club who had a brain tumour, and other people he knows who are or have been treated for the disease.

The total he raises will be boosted by his captain’s day at the golf club and a charity day.