By Mal Butler
A man is walking more than 500 miles to raise money for Freshwater Independent Lifeboat later this month.
Izzy Coelho, 42, has lived in Freshwater Bay for the last 18 years and owns Duo Baguettes in the village. He is going to walk the 835 km (519 mile) Pilgrim Way route, the North Route. It starts from the Camino De Santiago De La Costa, in the French Pyrenees, to north-west Spain, and leads to the shrine of the Apostle James where tradition holds his remains are buried. Izzy said: “It’s a route where the scenery changes all of the time. It’s very challenging as the terrain goes up and down.”
He is no stranger to charity fund-raising, having previously rowed around the Island as part of a team and taking part in the 1,000,000-metre rowing challenge. Izzy added: “I like to challenge my body and mind; it’s crazy – but I want to push myself to the limit.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but then thought I would raise money for the lifeboat which does a lot for the community and has been good to me.”
Izzy hopes to start the walk on September 17 and complete it around October 21. You can support Izzy at iow.life/izzyswalk.
Isle of Wight Observer