A WALKER has travelled through Lyme Regis and Bridport as part of her three-year journey trekking 20,000 miles around the British and Irish coastlines to raise money for Alzheimer's Research UK.

Karen Penny, 55, set off on her monumental journey in January 2019 from her home in Gower, Wales, and has so far walked around Ireland and up the west coast of Britain - a trek of more than 7,500 miles.

She made her way into Dorset last week and spent Sunday night sleeping on Chesil Beach.

She said: "Dorset has the most beautiful stretch of coastline and walking the South West Coast Path has been a pleasure."

Ms Penny carries a tent, sleeping bag, power chargers, food, water and a change of clothes with her while she walks. She sleeps in her tent or in any accommodation the local community can offer her - so far she has stayed in a barn, a shed, a conservatory and a garage.

She has already raised an incredible £69,000 for Alzheimer's Research UK and hopes to raise £100,000 by the time she completes the journey, which she predicts will be another 13 months.

Ms Penny and her husband Mark have a close connection with Alzheimer's after Mark's parents were both diagnosed with the illness. Ms Penny has previously raised more than £6,000 for the charity after she walked from John O'Groats to Land's End in 2018.

She said: "I want to do something else for their legacy and to raise as much awareness and money as possible for the charity."

After completing her journey around Ireland, Ms Penny set off from Fishguard, Wales, walking clockwise around the British coast until she reached the Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland in March this year.

She decided to pause her walk and travel back to Wales when the country went into lockdown.

Ms Penny, who spent 30 years working in the legal profession, restarted her journey on August 10, this time going anti-clockwise, and hopes to complete the rest of it without travel restrictions forcing her to go home again.

She said: "I know I won't ever give up. I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and I will get there in the end."

To donate, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thepennyrollson