THREE friends from Bury are gearing up to tackle a gruelling 192-mile Coast to Coast Challenge.

David Barnes, Mark Greenwood and Paul Gaskell will set off this Saturday (June 27) for the tough two-week trek to raise money for Bury Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support.

The trio are walking across the breadth of the country following the famous Wainwright Coast to Coast route from St Bees Head in the west to Robin Hood’s Bay in the east.

Tackling the walk has long been a dream for David who roped his friends into the challenge by promising them one of Britain’s most picturesque pub crawls.

"I told them there were 185 pubs on the way and just glossed over the 30,000ft they would have to climb, which is higher than Everest”, he confessed.

David’s employers, Bury rail engineering firm Rowe Hankins are right behind the challenge, regularly supporting fundraising challenges by its employees with teams having previously climbed Snowdon and taken part in the Manchester Colour Run.

Managing director Mike Hankins said: “It’s fantastic to see our staff getting out there, taking on challenging activities and we happy to support or sponsor them. They really pull together to encourage each other. By helping local charities like Bury Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support which is close to a lot of people’s hearts, everyone benefits”.

Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/david-barnes12 for Bury Hospice and www.justgiving.com/david-barnes11 for Macmillan Cancer Support.