Bryson Line walkers get a warm welcome in Bognor

Covering 569 miles in 30 days, from Cape Wrath, the challenge was inspired by the book The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson and aimed to raise £100,000 for several charities.

So far the funding total stands at £122,000.

The Mayor of Arundel Lucy Ashworth said she was ‘delighted’ to get to meet the ‘wonderful and enthusiastic group’ en route.

She said: “I enjoyed speaking with Eric Scoones, who has completed many challenges despite having a heart transplant, and Alex Eichhorn, who had radio and chemo treatment at Great Ormond Street as a child.

“It was a real pleasure to welcome them and hope they return to see us later in the year when they have more time to discover what our historic town has to offer.”

One of the charities set to benefit from the fundraiser is The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

Chairman of the Arun Group, Michael Warden, who met the group, said: “Bill Bryson commented that it was incredible that there were so many people with his name on their T-shirts.”

Noting that the American participants said they were ‘inspired to do the walk because of our beautiful countryside’, Michael said the event helped to ‘reinforce our aims and objectives to look after the countryside’.

The walk, which was sponsored by Tanager Wealth Management, commenced on June 8 and saw three people go the whole distance – Alex Eichhorn, Roger Saller and Kate Hedges.

“Crossing the finishing line was emotional and a little numbing to be frank,” Alex said. “There were so many friends and family at Bognor Pier to walk with us and help us celebrate we had little time to reflect on what we had achieved.”