Northwich man walks from John O'Groats to Lands End for Mind

Ben Stoddart is planning on completing the massive 820-mile route in just 31 days.

The 28-year-old began his epic journey in the Scottish town on March 1, with a plan to walk the equivilant of a marathon every day (26.5 miles).

Ben set off from John O'Groats on March 1 - photo Instagram ploddingwithstoddy

Motivation for the walk was to raise both cash and awarness for the charity, having had first hand experience of mental health issues himself.

"I've had my own mental health battles, but not as bad as others," he explained.

"I think everyone needs to look after their mental health.

"I've also been close to people who have suffered really badly with it.

"One thing I found whenever I'm feeling crap is to get out in the fresh air and do some walking, exercise, or a bit of sport, and that perks me up a bit.

"Because that makes me feel brighter I thought I'd try and push it a bit further than normal."

The account manager has certainly done that over the last three weeks, having already walked more than 600 miles, with just one week to go.

He went on: "Normally with a challenge like this, people might walk around 10 to 15 miles a day, but I had to complete it within 31 days.

"The company I work for gave me the whole of March off, but I'll be back in work come April, so I need to finish by the end of the month.

"I've pretty much stuck to my plan so far, but there's been some really challenging days.

"After the first three days, my feet were completely torn up.

"They're covered in blisters and I've lost three toenails already.

"Each night I have to spend about an hour repairing my feet."

Ben has been joined on his epic walk by friends and family along the route - Pic Instagram ploddingwithstoddy

There has been plenty of relief along the way, with Ben joined by family and friends at various stages, and he could even enjoy a home-cooked meal and his old bed, when he passed through Cheshire a couple of days ago.

"My mum lives in Acton Bridge," he said.

"So I did two nights there and it was nice having my old bed back."

Ben has raised more than £5,000 so far and you can support his efforts online via - justgiving.com/fundraising/ben-stoddart1.

You can also track his progress on Instagram - ploddingwithstoddy.