Hawick father and son's trek to Tyneside raises almost £4,000 for good causes

Rory Bannerman and his youngest son Charlie, 23, endured rain, sleet and snow during their 19-hour trek from Hawick to the city’s St James’s Park.

Both are Newcastle United fans, and after completing the sponsored walk they took in the Tyneside team’s 1-0 victory over Huddersfield this month.

Their marathon effort has resulted in £3,800 being shared among three worthy causes – the Meningitis Research Foundation, the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Foundation and foodbanks run by the Trussell Trust in Newcastle and Glasgow, where Charlie now lives.

The pair walked from Hawick to Carter Bar, grabbed a night’s sleep and then set off the next day in a blizzard, reaching Belsay in Northumberland on Friday night, and, after another night’s rest, arrived in Newcastle a couple of hours before the 3pm match kick-off.

Rory, 54, a senior partner at the law firm Bannerman Burke, said: “We didn’t walk straight through, SAS-style, but we did face some fairly inhospitable weather along the way. There was lots of rain, sleet and snow. I think there was about 20 minutes of sunshine along the whole route.

“It was great to finally arrive at St James’s Park.

“Charlie has been a mad keen Newcastle United fan since he was young, and we’re both huge fans of Rafa the Gaffer. He’s doing an amazing job.

“I knew quite some time ago that the Huddersfield game would probably be pivotal in Newcastle’s fight to survive in the English Premiership, and that’s why we chose that game.

“Fortunately, we won the game and followed it with a win away at Leicester.

“After the match, we were picked up and taken home by my eldest son, Hamish. There was no way we were walking back.”

The fundraising effort was very much a family affair. Rory’s youngest daughter, Flora, 24, joined her dad and brother for 10 miles of the route, and eldest daughter Eilidh, 26, cooked chocolate brownies for the pair to eat along the way.