AN emotional walk of a lifetime is now over for a mother who raised cash for a cancer charity in memory of her sister. Mother of three, Cheryl Rowney, walked along a 70-mile length of The Great Wall of China to raise money for Cancer Research in memory of

AN emotional walk of a lifetime is now over for a mother who raised cash for a cancer charity in memory of her sister.

Mother of three, Cheryl Rowney, walked along a 70-mile length of The Great Wall of China to raise money for Cancer Research in memory of her late sister Kim.

Cheryl, from Stevenage, was one of a group of 24 all wanting to raise money for Cancer Research.

Walking around 10 miles each day, the group stayed overnight in lodges where the facilities were basic but mostly comfortable. Most days started early - with each day's 10 mile trek starting at 7am.

Cheryl at 54 was the oldest of the walkers, the youngest being 18. One of the ladies walking was herself in remission from cancer.

"The scenery was amazing along the wall," said Cheryl.

"Along the way, walking through various villages, the group gave presents to the local children. The highlight of the trip was the emotional arrival at the finish where all the trekkers were presented with their medals.

"It was a very tearful and emotional moment that I will remember for the rest of my life."

On her return to work, Cheryl was greeted by a £1,000 donation from her employers Rushbrook & Rathbone in Hitchin. In total so far, she's raised £8,200, which included a number of donations from Comet readers following our first story about Cheryl preparing to fly out to China.

So what's next for Cheryl? Well, apart from organising her daughter's wedding next year Cheryl's niece and nephew Lisa and Andy - her late sister's children, also from Stevenage - are planning a similar fundraising trip to Peru, and Cheryl will be helping them all the way.

Cheryl has been overwhelmed by donations from people to support her in this trip. If you would like to make a donation to support Cancer Research, please send cheques to Cancer Reseach UK, c/o Valerie Johnman at Rushbrook & Rathbone, 69 Hermitage Road, Hitchin SG5 1DB.