Tom Kelsey is 69, a retired project manager and someone who is up for a challenge.

He’s climbed the Three Peaks – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Yr Wyddfa – he’s run the London Marathon and he’s cycled from his home in Gloucester to Paris.

He’s taken on other challenges too but he reckons his next one is his toughest yet because he’s embarking on an epic 1,000-mile walk around the country, a walk that will take him 65 to 70 days to complete.

He’s setting off on Friday 15th March and his journey, which will take him up to Hadrian’s Wall, will finish at Kemble, near Cirencester, around Tuesday 20th May.

“I might get the train home from Kemble,” he said with a laugh.

Tom is doing the walk to raise money for WellChild, a national charity based in Cheltenham which supports seriously ill children, young people and their families.

He has raised about £3,500 for the charity over the years and he’s very confident that he will complete his latest challenge.

“Absolutely no doubt, I’m a very positive person,” he said.

“I’m in training, I’m aiming to do about 15 miles a day once I start the walk.

“I’m doing it on my own and about 50 per cent of the time I’ll be wild camping, but when I was training for the Three Peaks, I was walking 20 miles a day.”

The walk will see Tom go along the Cotswold Way before crossing the Severn Bridge into Wales.

He will then head along Offa’s Dyke before taking the coastal path to Liverpool and then on to Hadrian’s Wall.

He will walk along Hadrian’s Wall to the Pennine Way, then down the Pennine Way before picking up the canal network to London which will take him along the Trent and Mersey, Birmingham and Fazeley, and Grand Union canals, before the last leg along the Thames Path to Kemble.

It's obviously not something for the faint-hearted but Tom certainly won’t be lacking in motivation when the going gets tough because he is a big supporter of WellChild.

The charity do a lot of good work, making it possible for children and young people with exceptional health needs to be cared for at home instead of in hospital.

From the head office in Cheltenham the team ensure the best outcomes they can for those in their care.

The first WellChild nurse post was established in May 2006 in Birmingham and the network has since grown to over 50 nurses nationwide, who work closely with families to provide planning for the transition from hospital to home and all their necessary care and equipment.

They also work with other professionals to bring services together, they provide nursing care and support, and they train parents in the use of equipment.

They also give emotional and practical support, arrange respite care and provide training to school or nursery staff in care needs.

Tom’s fundraising is via Just Giving here