AN 84-mile route march in the footsteps of Roman centurions is set to raise £2,000 for a much-loved local charity.

Staff from Matthew Charlton in Hexham, the home improvement and builders’ merchant on Station Road, are walking the length of Hadrian’s Wall for Tynedale Hospice at Home this bank holiday weekend.

They set out from Bowness on Solway yesterday and are expected to finish at Wallsend, North Tyneside, on Monday.

Timber manager Tony Wilkinson explained that they wanted to do something for a local charity.

“And Tynedale Hospice At Home means a lot to a lot of people in the local community,” he said.

None of the team have walked the whole of the Hadrian’s Wall Path, a World Heritage Site, before, though Jackie, the hardware manager, is an experienced long-distance hiker, having tackled the Inca Trail 10years ago.

The walkers should be fine, however, as Tony, who is a qualified first aider, said he had packed “plenty of blister plasters.”

* To sponsor the team, go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/MatthewCharlton-WalkingtheWall. Alternatively you can text MCHT84£(amount) to 70700 or donate in-store.