Wing Commander David Forbes raises bar for walking challenge - to 650 miles

Wing Commander David Forbes

Never one to turn down a challenge, Wing Commander David Forbes has pledged to walk an additional 150 miles to raise much-needed funds for the Mayor of Rochdale’s charity appeal.

The Rochdale veteran, 81, has been walking several miles each morning since March 2020, after battling a chest infection and cold around Christmas 2019, and has been using his early morning exercise as an opportunity to raise money for charities, which have missed out on so much during the year of the pandemic.

Mr Forbes, the president of the British Legion in Rochdale, is now aiming to raise £2,000 for the Mayor’s charity, which is supporting Rochdale Springhill Hospice, Parkinson’s UK, Rochdale Shopmobility, Leukaemia UK, Rochdale Veterans, Rochdale Heartbeat and many other local charities.

He has smashed his original target of walking 500 miles in the first four months of this year, having covered 535 miles by the end of March. Refusing to rest on his laurels, Mr Forbes has now added an extra 150 miles to his challenge, raising the bar to 650 miles.

When Mr Forbes has reached his target, he will have covered the equivalent distance – as the crow flies – of walking from Rochdale to Copenhagen or Berlin.
 

Read more: David Forbes has walked over 300 miles for charity in just two monthsPublished: 02 March 2021

Read more: David Forbes walked 175 miles – and now he’ll walk 500 morePublished: 30 January 2021

Last November, Mr Forbes, the president of the British Legion in Rochdale, walked 150 miles throughout November to raise much-needed funds for the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal.

To donate, please visit:

• www.gofundme.com/f/davids-walk-for-charity