A nurse at Manorlands was given three months off work -- to raise money for the hospice by walking the length of the country.

Katie Shepherd has now returned to work at the Oxenhope care home after walking 1,200 miles from Land's End to John o'Groats.

She walked 20 miles a day -- for the first part with her faithful sheepdog Moss and later with friends -- to raise between £3,000 and £4,000 for Manorlands.

She said: "It was great. Obviously there were some good times and bad times, but there were some fantastic experiences.

"I would recommend it to anybody -- it was a great experience."

Katie, 32, started the walk in May and finished in mid-August.

She added: "I really enjoyed the Pennine Way and through the Cairngorms in Scotland.

"It was always nice to see friends who met up with me for parts of the way, particularly in the north of England."

She said: "The bad times included when I got hopelessly lost at the end of the Pennine Way at a place called Crossfell, and I spent seven hours in poor visibility and sleet and got very disorientated.

"Luckily, I was with a friend and we managed to talk each other through it."

Moss had walked for the first 400 miles but Katie sent him home when he began to look thin and did not appear to be enjoying it any longer.

Katie, from Buckden, in the Yorkshire Dales, added: "I have always liked walking and I wanted to walk the whole of the Pennine Way. Once I looked at it, I thought about a long-distance footpath.

"One of my friends joked with me why don't I do the whole of the country.

"Then I thought it would be a good way to raise money for Manorlands," she said.

Staff at Manorlands were kept up to date with her progress through phone calls and regular postcards.

Fundraising manager Janine Walderman said: "We have all been following her adventures. It is such a fantastic achievement.

"We have had letters and donations from people all over the country who have bumped into Katie on her travels, and they have all said what an inspirational and caring person she is.

"Sue Ryder Care relies on amazing people like Katie to help fund the 17 centres we have around the country, and we hope that others will feel inspired to get active and help support our valuable work."