Couple's 350-mile walk in memory of four relatives

A couple have completed a 350-mile (563km) walk in just 14 days in memory of four family members who took their own lives.

George and Cindy Downey walked from Glasgow to St Neots in Cambridgeshire, where his brother Pat Kenny died in 2020, aged 25.

The walk also took in locations connected to Mr Downey's late father, uncle and grandfather.

He said completing the walk was overwhelming and emotional.

The couple, from Halton, near Wendover, Buckinghamshire, were joined by family and friends, including their three-year-old daughter for the final mile, with a welcoming committee waiting for them at the finish line on Saturday.

As the location where Mr Kenny died two and a half years ago, the journey's end was particularly poignant

"It was overwhelming because it had been just me and Cindy for 14 days, there was a lot of people - many of whom we didn't know - and the significance of where we were finishing," said Mr Downey.

They began their walk in Glasgow as it was where Mr Kenny was born and where his older male relatives took their lives in 1980, 2002 and 2010.

En route, the couple were joined by other walkers, including Andy Airey and Mike Palmer of Three Dads Walking.

Along with Tim Owen, the dads have raised more than £1m by walking hundreds of miles in memory of their daughters, who all died by suicide.

"The lows for me were the blisters," said Mrs Downey. "But the highs were all the people we met along the way, all the support we received and the awareness we raised."

The Downeys said they were also shown kindness by many strangers, including a farmer who invited them in for a drink, and donated to the cause.

Mr Downey, a counselling therapist, said he was "so inspired" by the work of Berkhamsted-based Hector's House, set up by the family of Hector Stringer, that he had wanted to help the cause.

Their challenge has raised more than £5,300 for the charity, which promotes mental health awareness to prevent suicide.

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