ONE businessman and his dog are making a 630-mile trek for a charity close to their hearts.

David Scott, 53, from Surbiton, and his pooch Shreddie are half way through a walk along the South West Coastal Path, with just each other for company.

The pair are raising money for Kingston Bereavement Service, a counselling service that helped David when his wife Mitsou died of breast cancer in February 2009.

He said: "I cannot thank them enough for the help and guidance they have given me through some very dark days.

"Because they are not a particularly well known charity they find it incredibly hard to raise money each year, but as most of you know, it is the loved ones left behind that probably need the most help.

"I'm too old to run another marathon - I ran the New York Marathon when I was 50 - and Mitsou always loved the sea, so it seemed the right thing to do.

"We never went as far as this. We went to Dorset and Devon, but I know she'd have loved it here.

"We've been stopping off at B&Bs and camping and we spent last night on a farm."

David and Shreddie, a six-year-old soft-coated wheaten terrier, started their walk in Minehead on March 10, which would have been Mitsou's 50th birthday.

Since then, they have walked along cliff tops, beaches and Bronze Age ruins, taking in some of the most stunning scenery the UK has to offer.

"When the weather's nice it's lovely," said David. "We've seen some beautiful scenery, but when

it's cold and raining, you just want to put your head down and get on with it. You have to remind yourself to stop and look up."

Shreddie's been enjoying himself too.

"He's learnt now that whenever I stop, he can have a little lie down, and he's getting used to going on long walks every day."

The rest of the walk will take them another three weeks, looping around the south coast, before reaching Poole Harbour in Dorset.

David hopes to raise £5,000 for the charity, whose team of 30 trained volunteer counsellors and three part-time staff help more than 300 people a year, and he is half way to his target already.