A Suffolk man is to set out on a mammoth walk, covering the 50-mile journey from Woodbridge to Norwich in less than a day.

East Anglian Daily Times: James Parkinson will be walking from Woodbridge to Norwich Picture: CHARLOTTE BONDJames Parkinson will be walking from Woodbridge to Norwich Picture: CHARLOTTE BOND (Image: Charlotte Bond)

James Parkinson, from Woodbridge, is set to take on the trip later this week as he looks to raise money for charity.

Mr Parkinson works for an architectural firm by day and is also a keen walker.

Recently, he and a friend from Norwich have been meeting halfway between their homes to go on walks.

“I have been walking with a friend from Norwich,” said Mr Parkinson.

East Anglian Daily Times: James Parkinson will be walking from Woodbridge to Norwich Picture: CHARLOTTE BONDJames Parkinson will be walking from Woodbridge to Norwich Picture: CHARLOTTE BOND (Image: Charlotte Bond)

“I half-jokingly said that I would walk to Norwich one day.

“I didn’t think about it afterwards.”

However, over time Mr Parkinson started to reconsider his idea and began to look into the practicalities of doing the walk.

“The more and more I thought about it, the more I thought I would do it,” said Mr Parkinson.

East Anglian Daily Times: James Parkinson will be walking from Woodbridge to Norwich Picture: CHARLOTTE BONDJames Parkinson will be walking from Woodbridge to Norwich Picture: CHARLOTTE BOND (Image: Charlotte Bond)

“Then we found a route.”

As the plan came together, Mr Parkinson’s mother suggested that he do the walk for charity.

“I am a super keen cyclist,” said Mr Parkinson.

“I have had some big crashes and both times I have been lucky enough to be picked up.

“I realised if I was in the middle of nowhere I would not be able to be picked up, so I decided to raise money for the East Anglian Air Ambulance.”

The complete route is 85km or just over 52 miles.

It will take Mr Parkinson over 16 hours to complete the journey, which he hopes to begin at 4am.

This means that for the first few hours of his trip, he will be walking in the dark as he heads northwards out of Suffolk.

Mr Parkinson is looking forward to the challenge ahead but knows that there will be some tough times during the walk.

“It’s just going to be a mental barrier to get over,” said Mr Parkinson.

“It’s pushing myself to keep going.

“Mid to late afternoon is when I think I will start feeling it but I am quite a determined person.”

Mr Parkinson originally hoped to raise around £1,000 for the air ambulance service, so far he has raised over £1,200.

“I am completely blown away by people’s generosity so far,” said Mr Parkinson.

You can donate to Mr Parkinson’s fundraiser here.