Great haul of China

Super-trekkers . . . Linda Bradbury (left) and Monica Thomas

THIS pair of intrepid adventurers are counting down to the challenge of a lifetime.

Monica Thomas and Linda Bradbury, are bound for the Great Wall of China to take part in a gruelling five-day walk which will see them trudge for eight hours a day.

Grandmother Monica (66) is the driving force behind the trek, but it took little to persuade Linda (63) to go with her.

The duo are long-standing volunteers at Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, Royton, where they met and became firm friends.

They share reception duty on Wednesdays, and decided to take on the challenge to raise money for the hospice.

The dynamic duo have pledged to raise thousands of pounds with their efforts and have thrown themselves into training with a vengeance.

They do a 20-mile trek every week along with many more shorter walks to build up their stamina. “It started 18 months ago when I was talking to someone who was doing it,” said Monica.

“I rang Linda and asked her did she fancy it. She said ‘don’t be stupid,’ but then we decided to go for it.”

The pair admitted some of their training has been horrendous, and sent a big thank-you to Monica’s husband Paul, and Linda’s husband, Colin, for their unstinting support.

Asked if they thought they were well prepared, Monica insisted: “Absolutely. We will be in front.”

The pair are among 14 fund-raisers undertaking the challenge to raise money for the hospice and are cramming some final training into the last two weeks before they go.

They leave Oldham on Friday for the 10-day journey.

Monica said: “The trail is steep and undulating on an unrestored section of the wall.”

Linda added: “We will have to climb to get on to it and there are some sheer drops.”

“I’m scared of heights,” said Monica, “but Linda has taught me to cope better during our training.”

The build-up to the challenge has taken over their lives, and when they are not training they are fund-raising.

Monica said: “We have paid every penny of our expenses ourselves, and every penny we raise will go to Dr Kershaw’s.”

The generous pair will have forked out around £3,000 each by the time they have finished.

Linda added: “We could have gone on a world cruise with what it has cost us, but we have had mega-fun already, and it’s something we believe in and something we wanted to do.”

There is still time to sponsor Monica, who has two sons and two grandchildren, and Linda, who has one daughter, by calling Dr Kershaw’s appeals office on 0161-624 9984.