A farmer from south Warwickshire is walking along the Meridian
line from England to France to raise money for an eye-care
charity.
David Henderson - also known as MeridianMan - set off from
Moreton-in-Marsh, Warwickshire, on 9 July and has since walked to
Peacehaven near Brighton.
He plans to cross to Le Havre after walking 300 lengths of
Brighton Pier to compensate for the distance across the English
Channel to Le Havre. He will then pick up the Meridian just south
of Paris. His trip will end in Lourdes.
The meridian line (or zero degree longitude line) is an
imaginary line which runs from the North Pole to the South Pole and
divides the eastern and western hemispheres of the world.
Mr Henderson said he had decided to make the walk, as he had
recently been diagnosed with type-two diabetes and so needed to do
more exercise. "I chose the Meridian as a guideline when I went to
the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and I had not heard of anyone else
doing it," he said.
"I chose Lourdes as my destination because I like France and
it's where miracles might happen, and it's close to the
Meridian."
The charity he is fundraising for is called Orbis, which strives
to eliminate avoidable blindness and restore sight in the
developing world. Orbis works closely with local communities,
governments and hospitals to design programmes that increase local
skills, improve healthcare facilities and foster awareness of eye
health.
You can keep up to date with David's progress by visiting his
blog. There is also a link to a page where you can sponsor him.
Meridianman