Southport Paralegal to Walk 120 Miles in Memory of Late Grandfather

Event | 18 May 2021

Rikki Spofforth, a paralegal at Fletchers Solicitors, aims to walk from Southport to Leicester in memory of his grandfather, Ken, who died of cancer in 2015.

The money raised will be split between Queenscourt Hospice, Cancer Research UK and LOROS Hospice in Leicester, where Ken died.

Rikki, 33, was inspired to undertake the 120 mile trek, which is expected to take him six days, after just missing out on being with his grandfather during his final hours.

Rikki said: “We knew my grandfather was nearing the end of his life, and we then received a telephone call to advise he had gone into the hospice in Leicester.

“It looked as though he did not have long, so we needed to get down there as quickly as we could to say our last goodbyes. So, myself, my mother and my sister got into the car and drove down to Leicester. Unfortunately, there were numerous traffic delays and by the time we arrived at LOROS, he had passed away.”

Rikki believes the final moments he could have shared with his grandfather were taken away due to the traffic, which is part of the reason he now plans to undertake the journey again – this time on foot.

“I have not done anything like this before,” he said. “At university, I completed a couple of 10K runs, but that was almost 12 years ago.”

For most of the walk, Rikki will be going it alone, however, on the final day, he will be joined by a distant relative who lives in Loughborough.

Rikki will set off from Birkdale on August 30 and aims to reach LOROS on September 4. He has already raised more than 60% of his £500 fundraising target.

Queenscourt’s Fundraising and Lottery Manager, Judith Stewart, said: “We are grateful that Rikki has included Queenscourt as one of the recipients for his fundraising trek and we wish him all the best when he finally sets off.

“We are also delighted that Fletchers Solicitors have chosen Queenscourt as their Charity of the Year and we look forward to working with all the team in the future.”

Rikki concluded: “Any donation you could give would be amazing, and I thank you for your support. It’s not going to be easy for this fat lad to walk so far, but with your tremendous support I’m sure to make it!”