John Eryl Parry, a 78-year-old great-grandfather living with bladder and kidney cancer, is walking 462 miles (743km) coast to coast across Britain to raise money for cancer charities, even though he has been warned the effort could interfere with his own treatment. He set off from Lowestoft, Suffolk, England's most easterly point, on 21 June 2026 and is scheduled to finish at St David's Head in Pembrokeshire on 11 August 2026.
Parry, who lives in Tendring, Essex, and originally hails from Pontypool, Torfaen, was diagnosed after a fall from a ladder led to a series of hospital scans. He said he has not informed his oncology team about the challenge, and revealed a doctor cautioned him that his body would likely change during the walk, potentially affecting his treatment plan.
How was his cancer discovered?
Parry's diagnosis came about almost by accident, after he fell from a ladder at home and sustained a skull fracture, bleeding on the brain, and broken bones in his neck, back, face and hands. During treatment for those injuries, doctors found high-grade bladder cancer as well as cancer in his right kidney. According to Macmillan Cancer Support, the accident took place in May 2023 and it was this incident that ultimately led to his bladder-cancer diagnosis, a timeline not mentioned in earlier reporting on his walk.
"I keep telling everybody I'm the luckiest person in the world."
Why is he risking his health to keep walking?
Parry has said plainly that he cannot cure cancer himself but felt compelled to do something to help others facing the disease.
"I can't cure cancer, but there's got to be something I can do."
He admitted he had not weighed the potential impact on his own treatment before beginning the walk.
"Perhaps I should've [thought about it], but I didn't."
After being told the walk could affect his treatment plan, he said his reaction was measured.
"That's fine... at least I know."
He said he could not be certain whether his body had changed as a result of the exertion.
"Has my body changed? I have no idea. I've got a few aches and pains, but if I sit in a chair for too long at my age I get aches and pains."
He also reflected on living with the disease day to day.
"I know I've got cancer, and I know I'm on treatment for cancer... but I don't consider it a burden. It's there, and I can't do anything about it. All I can do is trust in the doctors, trust in the treatment, and hope it all works."
He acknowledged missing a scheduled blood test during the second week of the walk, joking about the consequences.
"I missed a blood test which I should've gone in for on the second week of my walk... I'll stand a row from my doctor now when I go back!"
Which route has he been following?
For the past seven and a half weeks, Parry has been walking the Via Beata pilgrimage route, a name that translates as "way of blessing", according to a national broadcaster's report. According to Macmillan Cancer Support, he chose this particular path because it runs from the most easterly point in England to the most westerly point in Wales, giving his coast-to-coast challenge a symbolic beginning and end. The route is broken into daily sections, each mapped between a series of way-station milestones.
How has he built an online following?
Parry has become something of a social media phenomenon, amassing tens of thousands of followers on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook under the name Welsh Grandad. He began sharing his story online after encouragement from his granddaughter, and closes each daily video with a message urging people to be kind to one another and to take life's struggles one step at a time, signing off "with love from grandad".
Who has joined him along the way?
Kyla Norrie, 32, from Cambridgeshire, joined Parry for eight days of the walk after spotting his social media appeal for companions on his daily legs, according to a national broadcaster's report. The pair have since stayed in daily contact by phone on days they could not walk together, and Norrie later travelled to Pembrokeshire to accompany him on the final stretch of the challenge.
"I can't imagine a day without having a chat to John now."
"Even after the walk, he's not getting rid of me."
How much has he raised, and for whom?
Parry set out to raise £5,000 each for four charities — Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, St David's Hospice Care in Newport and Farleigh Hospice in Essex — and surpassed that combined target within days of starting the walk. He has since raised his goal repeatedly and is now aiming for £75,000 shared between the four organisations. A report from the Western Telegraph indicates that, ahead of the final day of the walk, he had raised £45,000 and had lifted his interim target to £50,000, according to the Western Telegraph.
"If I can get to £75,000 then I'll be ecstatic, but I won't stop there. I don't think I can."
"I've got this feeling inside me that I've got to help more people, how I'm going to do it I don't know - but I've got to help more people."
The same Western Telegraph report describes Parry as a grandfather of nine and great-grandfather of six, according to the Western Telegraph.
Parry's fundraising walk follows a string of similar endurance challenges undertaken by people managing serious illness. Lorraine McCall, a 61-year-old cancer survivor, completed Scotland's 141 Donald hills in four weeks despite having overcome three cancers, while Paul Choat raised more than £117,000 for a motor neurone disease charity after completing all 282 of Scotland's Munros in memory of his late father.
What happens next?
Parry is due to complete his 462-mile journey at St David's Head in Pembrokeshire on 11 August 2026, according to both a national broadcaster's report and the Western Telegraph. He has indicated he intends to keep fundraising beyond the walk's conclusion, saying he feels driven to continue helping people affected by cancer even after reaching his final destination.
Key Facts
- John Eryl Parry, 78, of Pontypool, Torfaen, is walking 462 miles (743km) from Lowestoft, Suffolk, to St David's Head, Pembrokeshire.
- He was diagnosed with high-grade bladder cancer and kidney cancer after a fall from a ladder in May 2023, per Macmillan Cancer Support.
- He is raising funds for Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, St David's Hospice Care and Farleigh Hospice, with a revised target of £75,000.
- He has walked the Via Beata pilgrimage route, meaning "way of blessing", over seven and a half weeks.
- The walk is scheduled to finish on 11 August 2026.
