Tom Buckley in the Lake District during his Coast-to-Coast walk

Tom Buckley in the Lake District during his Coast-to-Coast walk

The cancer patient who braved blizzards and torrential rain to complete the Coast-to-Coast walk has been honoured by the Wainwright Society.

Tom Buckley has so far raised more than £65,000 for the Young Oncology Unit at the Christie Hospital, Manchester as a result of his epic 309km (192-mile) trip last month. The society was formed to promote the works of Alfred Wainwright, who created the route.

The 23-year-old, from Comberbach in Cheshire, has terminal cancer and sight in only one eye. He tackled the route during some of the winter’s worst weather and completed the walk, from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire in 18 days.

Julia Bradbury

Julia Bradbury

He has been invited to become an honorary member of the Wainwright Society, a status shared by television presenter Julia Bradbury and mountaineer and Everest summiteer Sir Chris Bonington.

Sir Chris Bonington

Sir Chris Bonington

Tom has an inoperable brain tumour and many other medical complications, the result of treatment for childhood eye cancer. Despite his problems, he battled on through immense pain to finish the tough route, which traverses the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors national parks.

The society offered him honorary membership in recognition of his courage and fortitude.

Donations to Tom’s charity effort can still be made at his Justgiving website.