There will be a celebration with a difference for the charity walkers who completed the Raad ny Foillan Challenge earlier this year as they will also be making plans to do it all again but next time they’ll be walking anti-clockwise.

The Raad ny Foillan Challenge began last year to raise funds for the Diana Princess of Wales Care at Home Trust (Hospice at Home), which funds nurses providing palliative care to the terminally ill in their own homes.

The idea was to break up the 85-mile route of the Raad ny Foillan coastal path around the island into manageable legs of up to 10 miles, usually with a meal and a few drinks at the end of each leg. Walkers were invited to pay a small amount to walk each leg with the money going to the charity. They could take part in as many legs as they wanted.

In June last year 44 walkers set off on the first leg, a leisurely stroll from Eary Cushlin to Niarbyl. The final leg set off from the bottom of the Sloc in August this year, to hike up Cronk ny Arrey Laa and down to Eary Cushlin, thus completing a clockwise circumnavigation of the island.

Not only did they complete the challenge, they also managed to raise £10,000 for Hospice at Home, and there is a celebration of the achievement planned next Thursday (November 30) at the Freemasons’ Hall in Douglas. Walkers who completed every leg will also be presented with a certificate.

Organiser Johnny Kipps said: ’We have enjoyed so many exceptional days on our travels around the island, including seals following us along the beach at Sartfeld and a paella served outside the Point of Ayre Lighthouse. There there will be lots of stories, pictures, memories and laughter to share.’

The occasion will also provide an opportunity to release plans to walk the Raad ny Foillan again, starting on January 28, 2018, but this time going anti-clockwise around the island. Anyone interested in joining the walk next year is invited to join the celebration: email [email protected] for more details.