Freestyle backpacker says thanks to Morecambe and Lancaster

Jonny Irlam, 33, from Middleton in Greater Manchester, has spent the night on a wet and windy Warton Crag, camped out at The Midland Hotel, slept in a garage in his tent in Heysham, and received a warm welcome from people attending an event at St Oswald’s Church in Warton when he arrived there on December 3.

The plucky adventurer set out on his coastal trek of the UK from Manchester on September 1, aiming to raise £10,000 for the Alzheimers Society through his Just Giving page.

He arrived in the Lancaster and Morecambe area a few days later, and has been doing odd jobs for people to help fund his journey.

He said: “The amount of love and comments I’ve received from people in the Morecambe and Lancaster area has been fantastic.

“I’ve been really overwhelmed with the support.

“My aim is to go around the world raising money for the Alzheimers Society and my goal is to raise £10,000.

“I’m starting with the coast of the UK, then mainland Europe, and then going with the flow to be fair.

“So far I’ve raised over £600.

I previously did the Cheshire Ring canal route in a canoe for Cancer Research in memory of my gran.

“I got back home after that and my mum said why not do something for Alzheimers as my grandad suffered from that.

“She said ‘how are you going to top that’ and I said, ‘I’ll go round the world’.

“Everyone’s saying ‘you must be freezing’, but to be honest it’s warm inside the tent, until I get out of it!

“I just want to say thank you to everyone in Morecambe and Lancaster for all the kindness I’ve been shown.”

Jonny will soon be making his way up the Cumbrian coast on his epic journey around the UK coast.

To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/Jonny-Irlam.