Derbyshire vet to walk 330 miles to raise money for farming charities

Michael Colgan will walk the Pennine Way to raise money for the 'hardships' farmers face
Michael Colgan will walk the Pennine Way to raise money for the 'hardships' farmers face

A Derbyshire vet will walk 330 miles along the Pennine Way to raise money for two farming charities: R.A.B.I and Vetlife.

Michael Colgan, a director and vet at the Buxton-based practise Overdale Vets, will set off during the August Bank Holiday weekend and expects the trip to take 3-4 weeks.

He said: “The reason I want to do this is to raise awareness and money for two charities that help support the community I live in and work with.”

Mr Colgan joined the Overdale practice in 1998 as a new graduate straight from Cambridge Vet School. He became a partner in 2006.

He has developed a keen interest in surgery, particularly orthopaedics, but has not forgotten his farming roots and still has a number of farm clients for whom he performs routine fertility and health visits.

He has set up a Virgin Money Giving page for the public to sponsor his walk.

'Hardships'

His walk will take in his family’s Northumberland farm, en route to the finish at Holy Island.

He added: “I have been lucky enough to be a vet, a job I love, in a beautiful part of the world for the last 19 years.

“In that time I have seen the hardships that the farming community has had to face. A farmer’s life is a tough one, long hours, often working alone, and not without the risk of accident or injury.

“The same is true of the vets that serve the farming community up and down the country and in the towns and cities too. Inevitably, this tough and often isolated life can lead to stress, depression and suicide. The stresses are often compounded by a lack of financial security.

“A farmworker, for example, injured by livestock or machinery, may be the sole breadwinner for a family and could have no income for months.”