Railway Charity Walk for British Heart Foundation

86 year old walks the Bluebell Railway Route  fundraising for the British Heart Foundation after recovery from heart surgery.

An eighty-six years old Bluebell Railway lineside volunteer has raised over £2700 for the British Heart Foundation walking  the 11 miles route of the railway with special permission 

John Deane has walked from East Grinstead Station through the West Hoathly tunnel to Sheffield Park Station today.

John  is raising money for the charity  after having a heart attack in 2008 and valve replacement surgery in 2022. 

John said he fortunately made a speedy recovery.

He told Ashdown Radio he puts his fitness down to working outdoors.

"I attribute much of my excellent recovery to the twice weekly lineside work sessions on the Bluebell, believing that regular suitable tasks and plenty of fresh air are a winning formula for regaining and maintaining fitness.

"I am now  raising funds for the British Heart Foundation as a meaningful gesture of thanks for my greatly improved fitness and the seventeen-year extension to my active life. Since my heart attack in 2008, I have completed seven years of leading mountain walking and a similar length of time doing catamaran sailing instruction."

You can support John at his Just Giving Page https://www.justgiving.com/page/johndeanebluebellwalk