Sir Ian Botham sets off in Taunton © PA Sport

Sir Ian Botham has set off on his 12th fund-raising expedition for charity, and for the first time people will be able to join him as he walks to help Leukaemia Research. He will walk 52 miles through nine towns, starting in Taunton today and finishing a week tomorrow in Durham.

Explaining the decision to allow people to join him, in return for sponsorship, Botham said: "We found it a bit difficult in the wilds along the A9 collecting from the sheep so this time we can collect money along the route.

"In 1985, when I first started walking to raise funds for Leukaemia Research, the survival rate for children with leukaemia was 20%, now the survival rate is 80%."

He also gave tips on how to survive long-distance walking. "At the end of each day, I get into the bath, but my feet don't go into the bath. You don't want to soften the skin, my feet stay out of the bath. My feet don't get washed for the whole walk. But they get cleaned with surgical spirit, so they're probably the cleanest bit of me."

After Taunton, the walk goes to Windsor, Tunbridge Wells, Bury St Edmunds, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Llandudno, Harrogate and Milngavie (near Glasgow).

Click here for more details from Beefy's Great British Walk