A grieving Liverpool FC fan who set out on an epic walk to honour his mum’s memory had a special day to remember as former Liverpool FC goalkeeper Chris Kirkland joined the group for the entire 34-mile trek.
David Highton, 39, from Runcorn, lost his mother Sue on October 1 aged 63 after she had cancer, and as thanks to hospice staff who looked after her he decided to take on the Sandstone Trail. Little did he know at the time that a chance encounter at Anfield would lead to Chris offering to join David and friends Tom Harper, Sammy Harper and Martyn Gill for the entire walk, which took place on Mother's Day, and with David’s wife Nichola also along for the last 10 miles.
Despite being regarded as one of the nation’s top walks, the Sandstone Trail isn't without its challenges as the group discovered, trekking through deep bogland as well as traversing forest and ascents of Bickerton and Raw Head hills, and enduring occasional rainy spells. A wrong turn added two miles to the walk and they arrived at the final destination of Frodsham in a time of about 12 hours including two stops with David’s foot carrying a large, painful blister.
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A group of well-wishers was on hand to greet them.
On Tuesday, David and Chris headed to Halton Haven on Barnfield Avenue in Murdishaw, Runcorn, which looked after David’s mum Sue for the final five weeks of life, to present staff with a cheque for £15,520, which he learned was enough to fund around 750 hours of care.
David said the walk had been “tough” and burned off 5,600 calories.
He told the ECHO he was pleased with the amount of public support including from people he didn’t know, and encouraged by his own “mithering” to promote the fundraiser, asking his binman, window cleaner, in coffee shops, and at the golf club, work and gym, to support the cause.
He added: "I massively appreciate everybody that donated.
"I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that don’t know me that donated, especially in tough times as it is now, and it just proves there are good people out there and supportive people, and obviously the whole thing was in memory of my mum on Mother’s Day, Sue Highton.
"I just hope she’d be proud of me, I know she would, and I’m really happy I’ve been able to give a substantial amount to Halton Haven."
Having a former Premier League goalkeeper along also gave the group a lift, with Chris keeping “really positive” for the duration, even as David’s blisters kicked in and he endured “agony” for the final third.
At Halton Haven on Tuesday, goalkeeping coach Chris, 41, paid tribute to the staff, who he described as “diamonds” and said hospice facilities were “worth their weight in gold”.
He told the ECHO he was keen to help David as soon as he heard about his mum and the Sandstone Trail walk, as they got chatting at Liverpool match.
He said: “David followed me on Twitter and knows I do a lot of walking and struggle with my mental health and addiction.
“I said ‘I’ll come and do it with you’.
“I don’t think he expected me to do the full lot, I said ‘listen mate, I’ll come and do it all’.
“It’s a great cause, Halton Haven, and they told me it was for his mum.
“Looking around you can see how much they do, the staff are diamonds.
“These facilities are just worth their weight in gold, and it’s great to have a look round today and know we’ve raised the money for them.
“It’s nice to see where it goes, coming here and seeing what they’re going to spend it on makes it even more worthwhile.”
For more information about Halton Haven and how to support it, visit haltonhaven.org.uk, and find out more about David's appeal here.
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