A LOCAL businessman tested his endurance with a 26 mile charity walk at the weekend.

Richard Rowles trekked from Hurstbourne Tarrant to Romsey on behalf of the Macular Society on Sunday.

This is the third time Mr Rowles has completed Walk the Test Way, which is organised by The Rotary Club of Romsey Test.

The Wherwell man said he had to wake up at 5am to start the charity challenge.

The day after the event Mr Rowles said: "I'm hurting a little bit, my legs are a bit stiff but I got there in the end though.

"It was really difficult near the end and my legs and feet started to hurt.

"There were these little mile makers and I swear the last two were deliberately put at longer stretches apart, it seemed like they were getting further and further apart.

"The last few miles were quite difficult but I didn't get any blisters actually, which is quite nice."

The 42-year-old added he only had two weeks to prepare for the event and did so with two 10 mile walks.

He said: "I was talking to a friend of mine, Graeme Davis, who works at the Macular Society and he was telling me they were still looking for people to do the walk and raise money for charity.

"It's a problem that affects older people, there's going to be a lot more older people around because we're all living longer and it's important to find solutions to problems that that group of people have and to help make their lives better."

He added he also took on the challenge as his mother has age-related macular degeneration and that it fit in well with his new healthy regime.

And Mr Rowles only missed out on his target of completing the long trek in eight hours by just 15 minutes.

However he said his dog, Nelson, helped him to finish the walk, adding: "He was great, there were lots of people throwing sticks for him - he had a great time."

To help Richard reach his target, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/richard-rowles1