ALAN Mighall from Chillington recently presented a cheque for £1,741 to St Luke’s Hospice, following his completion of the ‘Camino de Santiago’ in memory of his wife Denise.

The ‘Camino de Santiago’ is a pilgrimage to the shrine of St James the Great at Santiago Cathedral in northwestern Spain. Alan set out from Saint-Jean Pied de Port in France, taking the 500 mile ‘Frances’ path across the Pyrenees to Santiago.

Alan explained his motivation for undertaking the pilgrimage: ‘My wife spent the last three weeks of her life at St Luke’s in Turnchapel. She wanted me to raise some money for St Luke’s, and eventually I settled on ‘El Camino’ as the best way to do this. It was an incredible experience, I met people from all walks of life, from 34 different countries.

‘It was an emotional journey, I was told beforehand that there were three aspects to the walk: physical, mental and spiritual. I’m not a religious person but something happened that changed my outlook on life. The day Denise died, I saw a rainbow and near the end of the pilgrimage, I was walking along thinking about her, looked up and saw a rainbow in a clear, blue sky - it was a very emotional experience.

‘I’d like to thank everyone who so generously donated money. My wife would be tickled pink to think that people had been so generous. St Luke’s need so much money to continue their work. Who knows tomorrow, it could be us that need their support.’

Community fundraiser for St Luke’s Wayne Marshall said: ’Alan has been an inspiration to us all with his commitment to the 500 mile trek across Spain in memory of Denise. He has received great support from family and friends and has raised a fantastic amount for patient care at St Luke’s. On behalf of the staff, volunteers and patients I would like to say a big thank you to Alan and his supporters.’