South Shields grandad completes his first week of walking more than 1,500 miles to Spain

Norman Mosley, from South Shields, is walking from his home in the borough to his house in El Campello, a seaside town on the Costa Blanca of Spain.

The 66-year-old, who works as an offshore rigger, started the challenge on Wednesday, August 16, and is estimating that he will arrive at his Spanish property between September 18 and September 20.

By taking on the mammoth challenge, he is attempting to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust.

Norman has titled the challenge “Wor Hoose to Wor Hoose” after he put a “wor hoose” sign outside of his Spanish property when he bought it in 2005.

Since then, his grandchildren bought him another “wor hoose” sign for his home in South Shields to match the two properties together.

Speaking to the Shields Gazette as he approaches the south coast of England, Norman gave an insight into how the first week of the challenge has gone.

He said: “It has all been going really well, at the moment I’m about 70 miles away from Newhaven and there hasn’t been any problems so far.

“If all goes to plan, I should be boarding the ferry to France at around 11pm tomorrow night (Thursday, August 24).

“It is difficult to say when the challenge will be complete but I’m estimating I should be arriving in El Campello around September 20, so it should be something like another 28 days of walking.”

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Norman’s online fundraiser has raised more than £2,000 so far, with another £3,000 in donations set to be added once the challenge is complete.

The grandad expressed his gratitude for all the support that he has received so far.

He added: “Fundraising has been going really well, there has been a lot of donations coming in and I can’t thank everyone enough.

“The support that I’ve been receiving has been unbelievable, I’m keeping people updated daily on Facebook and trying to answer all the messages that I’m getting when I get to my hotel every night.

“There is still around £3,000 to be added to the fundraising pot once I’m finished, so it has been really good up until now.”

You can donate to Norman’s Go Fund Me page by visiting: https://www.gofundme.com/f/wor-hoose-to-wor-hoose-charity-walk.