Bristol paramedic saves up all of his annual leave for charity trek around South West Coast path
Watch Charlotte Gay's report
A Bristol paramedic is walking 630 miles - that's a marathon a day - around the entire South West Coast Path to raise money for Great Western Air Ambulance .
Rob Stanfield only qualified with South Western Ambulance in October but wanted to spend his annual leave fundraising for the charity he often works alongside.
The keen climber is one week into the challenge, which will take him from Minehead to Poole, but Rob admits so far it's been a lot tougher than he imagined.
"I'll be honest, it's absolutely horrendous."
"The first couple of nights were really bad, I had less than three hours sleep. It's really hard after 9-10 hours of walking to get your feet dry and clean, wipe my body with wet wipes, get dry into dry clothes and into my sleeping bag."
The 27-year-old has been mostly sleeping outside in a sleeping bag under "bivi" sheet.
Unfortunately the wind and the rain has often soaked his belongings through, meaning Rob often has to walk with his sleeping bag over his shoulders to dry it out.
Yet despite the aches and pains, he's staying optimistic.
"As paramedics we're always good at making the best of a bad situation and I think optimism and gratitude in whatever we are presented whether that's only three hours sleep or finally getting home after 16 hours."
"The job's changed massively since Covid sort of hit us, and we're seeing a lot of burnout from paramedics who had perhaps done 20 years in the job. And they've suddenly hit a wall and really struggling. But fortunately as well, there's a massive amount of support from the public, and we do still largely feel very appreciated and we're very grateful for that"
The entire coastal walk is the equivalent to hiking up four Mount Everest's and Rob needs to eat 6,000 calories a day to complete the challenge.
The challenge began on the 2nd of February in Minehead and Rob hopes to cross the finish line in Poole within 25 days.