A FORMER soldier, who is walking the 800-mile length of the Welsh coastline to raise money for charity, said he has been “overwhelmed” with the generosity of people as he passed through Gwynedd.

Jason Haigh, 31, walked on his journey from Conwy to Chepstow, along the Ll?n Peninsula and down the coast through Porthmadog, Barmouth and Tywyn on his way to Powys and Ceredigion.

Mr Haigh said he had been “overwhelmed with all the generosity of people I’ve met on my journey down the Welsh coast so far”.

“It started up on the Ll?n peninsula when a guy pulled over and offered me a lift into town because the main road I was on was too dangerous to walk,” he said.

“He then proceeded to offer a donation towards the charity.

“The second time, again a chap pulled over and offered me a lift into town - a lot of sections of the route were diverted along main roads for one reason or another.

“Entering Porthmadog, I stopped for breakfast where a family overheard my conversation and proceeded to ask for my Justgiving page and straight-away donated.

“This was quickly followed by the staff of the café approaching me and offering me all their spare change as a donation.

“This took me by surprise and was quite overwhelming.

“All these complete strangers I’ve met along my journey so far all have showed pure kindness and a willingness to help wherever they can, and for that I’ll always be grateful.

“It just goes to show that no matter how much evil and bad is in the world good people still exist and still do good things.”

Mr Haigh is raising money for the Royal British Legion, and has been cataloguing war memorials along the route.

He said he was “very impressed” with many village memorials, which were “very well looked after.”

The walk is the second event Mr Haigh has held to raise money for the Royal British Legion.

In 2016 he walked 120 miles, raising £1,500.

“This time I wanted to do something bigger, tougher, and really push myself and my limits,” Mr Haigh said.

Online donations have so far raised £551 of a £3,000 target.

For more information on the journey, and to donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jason-haigh4

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