A LADY from Altarnun has embarked on a walk and cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats, raising funds for three causes, including Altarnun church hall.

Anne Langley, who lives in between Altarnun and Polyphant, began cycling and walking from Land’s End on Monday, September 24 for three days until she reaches Scotland’s infamous John O’Groats.

Although she has been planning the challenge for 18 months, things haven’t gone entirely to plan.

She told the Post: “I’m not nervous — I’m quite excited. I’ve been planning this for 18 months, but things haven’t exactly gone quite to plan. I found out my husband was ill and I’ve also had a bad tooth, so have been undergoing some horrenous dental work.

“I haven’t been able to go out in the cold winds because it’ll hurt my tooth, and it’s also affected my stamina. So, things haven’t gone according to plan.”

However, Anne has been training whenever she can, walking her dog and riding her bicycle regularly. She is undertaking the challenge to raise money for Altarnun church hall, the National Coastwatch Institution and the Samaritans.

Speaking about why she has chosen to fundraise for the village’s church hall, Anne simply said: “Because no one else is going to do it!”

She continued: “The church hall is a beautiful building in a beautiful setting — it used to be the village school.”

Altarnun is glad to be home to both a church hall and a village hall — but it is important not to get the two mixed up, according to Anne.

She said: “I see the two things as complementary. I would be just as happy to raise money for the village hall, but I just feel there are plenty of people already fundraising for this hall and not enough is done for the church hall! It’s (the church hall) important to some people in the village and I think it deserves to be brought into the 21st century.

“The roof leaks, we need some decent storage and decent heating. I just think we need to make it a pleasant and safe place for the community to use for their activities and leisure.”

Anne believes local facilities are important to rural communities in particular.

She said: “Because Altarnun is the largest parish in Cornwall, we cover a huge area with a lot of isolated hamlets. The local rural transport is not particularly convenient, so unless one drives or has a way of travelling by car, you’re stuck in the village. The community amenities here are just as important as any other in Cornwall.”

The village hall in Altarnun is also home to the local shop and Post Office, and offers space for regular clubs and meetings such as the Brownies, table tennis club, bowls club, the parish council and more.

However, the church hall is better for activities such as taekwondo due to the suitable flooring, and also offers great acoustics for local musicians.

There is also a monthly market held there, which Anne organises, plus the Knit and Knatter group also meet at the church hall as it is easier for members to get to.

“There’s lots of things going on at the village hall, but I’d also like to make it clear that the church hall is great for lots of other things, and is an affordable venue for things like weddings, family parties and gatherings.

“There’s so much going on at the village hall that very often you just can’t book it — it’s almost fully booked. It’s really nice that we have a good community that is willing to use the space.”

In terms of her challenge, Anne has been walking the dog regularly and can often be found cycling the Camel Trail route.

However, one aspect of the challenge she feels she may find difficult is road traffic cycling, as she has been unable to practice this at home as much as she had liked.

This is the first time Anne has undertaken a challenge of this sort, but said she was looking forward to it.

“I’m really looking forward to it — it’s totally different from my normal routine, and it’ll be nice to be away from the regular pressures of normal life.”

“I was ill last year, and I really wanted to go to Scotland,” she said. “But if you go for two weeks, it takes three days to get there, and by the time you’ve looked at the things you want to look at and gone to the places you want to go, it takes three days to get back again. I wanted to be able to see the countryside and be closer to it. A friend suggested that I do this for charity, and so that’s what I’m doing!”

Any money Anne raises will be split between Altarnun church hall, the National Coastwatch Institution as her husband has been a part of this for many years, and the Samaritans, as her sister has been a Samaritan for some time and she would like to be able to do something for her.

Anne hopes to install a GPS tracking system and connect it to her website, www.trenarrett.co.uk so people can keep up to date with her challenge.

People are able to donate by visiting the St Nonna’s Church Facebook page and following the link to her fundraising page, or by emailing [email protected]