Ges Laker home again in Warsash after epic walkies with his dogs (From Daily Echo)

Ges Laker home again in Warsash after epic walkies with his dogs

3:01pm Monday 15th February 2010

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AFTER 378 days, 6,500 miles, eight pairs of boots and the odd cut paw, one Hampshire man and his two dogs have returned home after a heck of a walkies.

Ges Laker was greeted with cheers and applause as he and his canine companions took their final steps to complete their mammoth trek around the entire coastline of Britain.

Still smiling and eager to celebrate with a pint or two, the 54-year-old from Warsash told the Daily Echo that it had been an experience of a lifetime but not one that he would like to repeat.

Ges said: “It has been an absolutely fantastic experience and I have got some very good memories but I definitely don’t fancy doing it again.”

The dad-of-two and his faithful friends, black Labradors Phoebe and Sumo, set off from their Warsash home last January, with the hope of raising thousands of pounds for the St Dunstan’s charity, which supports blind ex-servicemen and women to become self-sufficient.

And despite being plagued by bad weather, endless blisters and sleeping in a tent for more than a year, the trekking trio returned to the Jolly Farmer pub with a grin and tails wagging, knowing that their efforts have raised more than £9,000.

Ges added: “It has been quite difficult along the way, especially with the bad weather, which seems to have followed us around.

“But the people I have met along the way have been unbelievably brilliant, total strangers have become friends, who have fed me and spurred me on when things have got tough.

“However I could have never completed this without my two dogs, who have been my saviour. They have kept me sane and got me to the finish line.”

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