Michael Wood, 59, will be setting off from the Tunes Bar in Albufeira on 28 January and plans to walk a 20 kilometre roundtrip to Armação de Pêra and back.
The date is particularly poignant as it is his late father’s birthday.
Coincidentally, it is also his day off from work at the bar.
A former soldier who spent ten years in the Army and 22 years in the UK police force, Mr. Wood is fundraising for the British Legion as well as the Albufeira fire-fighters.
“A lot of them are volunteers,” he says of his local bombeiros, and explains: “They’ve helped me in the past and I think they provide an excellent service.”
Remembering his father, he adds: “I’ve always wanted to do something and this seems a fitting tribute.”
And, to pay further homage to his father, who also ran pubs, Mr. Wood will be walking barefoot.
“My father ran pubs in the UK and he used to do walks to raise funds for charity. He always did the walks barefoot and he always walked around barefoot in the bar”, he recalls.
While a landlord at a pub in Northampton, Mr. Wood’s late father Bill raised over £1,000 with barefoot walks for a local fund for sick children.
His son is hoping to emulate his father’s charitable efforts, in the Algarve where he has lived for the past seven years.
“It’s ten kilometres exactly from my front door to the big roundabout near the campsite in Armação. So I’m going to walk there and back and, if my feet are ok, I’ll keep on going”, he says.
Anyone who would like to sponsor Mr. Wood can contact him on email: michaelat tunes@yahoo.co.uk, or mobile: (+351) 917 167 303.