Philip Williams reaches John O'Groats on his coastal fundraising walk

Alzheimer's Society fundraiser Philip Williams has reached John O'Groats on his way to walking round the coast of Britain for the charity.  In heavy rain and gale force winds, he arrived at the landmark at the end of August to mark the 4,000th mile of his round Britain trek since he set out from Brighton at the start of 2010.

'I am thrilled to have made it to this point. It has taken me two and a half years to get here as I have been doing my walk in stages. I do feel a tremendous sense of achievement to have made it this far and there is still a very long way to go, but the journey is now taking me south towards my start and finish point at Brighton Pier and the east coast of Britain is easier and shorter than the west.'

So far Philip has worn out three pairs of boots and recently ripped his trousers to pieces after a hair raising slide down a steep gulley on Scotland 's west coast.

'There have been some very challenging days as the coastline up here is quite dramatic. The Scottish scenery is stunning and being so isolated means I have has some very close encounters with its wildlife.

'In May I camped on a remote headland and discovered in the morning that I was right underneath a sea eagle's nest. The bird was beautiful to look at and as it was making regular flights to and from the nest I was able to appreciate how enormous these birds are. More recently I was having my picnic lunch on the shore of Loch Erribol when two otters swam over to where I was sitting. One ate a fish it had caught while the other curled up and went to sleep within 20 metres of where I was sitting!'

Philip, who's mother has Alzheimer's, hopes to raise £100,000 for Alzheimer's Society and Alzheimer Scotland.  At the end of August his fundraising total for Alzheimer's Society was over £44,000.

You can follow his progress at www.philipwilliams.uk.com where you can also make a donation.  Philip hopes to complete his walk in 2013.