Christine Saul, from near Matlock in Derbyshire visited Morwenstow and Bude last week as she walks the entire England Coast Path to raise money for Derby-based Yappy Ever After Dog Rescue.

Christine took adorable five-year-old chocolate Labrador Gino off the rescue centre’s hands in 2019, and Gino is joining her on the once in a lifetime trip, with the duo known as the ‘Yappy Hikers’.

She said: “We’re walking the entire English Coast Path which is about 2,700 miles. We started at the Severn Bridge on April 15 on my birthday and hopefully we’ll have completed it by the middle of November. I heard about the coast path about four years ago and I’ve wanted to do it ever since it was developed. I’m taking a career break as head of customer services at a walking holiday company to do it, and it’s going really well so far.

“The initial target I set was £2,700 meaning a pound every mile, but we’re nearly at 50% already, so hopefully we can go beyond that. I’ve had amazing support all the way along. People have donated along the way, the social media support has been great while some people have come out and walked with us and offered me places to stay.”

On Thursday, May 6, Christine and Gino stayed near Morwenstow having the day before walked from Westward Ho to Clovelly along the North Devon coast. Friday saw her walk to Bude.

Christine added: “It’s been a mixture of wild camping, campsites and a couple of static caravans.. But until B&B’s open on May 17 there’s not a lot of choice.”

Unsurprisingly Gino is having the time of his life.

Christine added: “Gino absolutely loves it. He goes through an incredible amount of food and water, but he’s got his own backpack.”

If you’d like to know more about Christine and Gino’s adventure, search ‘Yappy Hikers’ on Facebook or Instagram or visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/yappyhikers