WHEN May de la Rue's aunt Emma died this summer, the 10-year-old decided she wanted to do something in memory of someone who loved the outdoors and had shared her first night under canvas.

WHEN May de la Rue's aunt Emma died this summer, the 10-year-old decided she wanted to do something in memory of someone who loved the outdoors and had shared her first night under canvas.

Her love of nature inspired the idea of a 50-mile walk with her father Colin from Felixstowe to Lowestoft along the Suffolk Heath and Coastal Path.

This week, they will be starting the last leg of their journey from Sizewell, stopping en route at the RSPB reserve at Minsmere and in Southwold. The walk will end in Lowestoft on Sunday with a reception at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club.

The pair, from Melton, near Woodbridge, have already raised �4,000 of their �10,000 target to help disabled youngsters through The Suffolk Foundation, an umbrella charity funding good causes.

People, places, observations as well as often searching conversations between father and daughter have been recorded by Colin, who is also compiling a photographic diary, updating it on May's website, www.fiftymileswithmydad.com.

A solicitor commuting to London and a high-pressure job, he said spending so much time with a 10-year-old was something much to be recommended.

Highlights of the trip for May, a pupil at Abbey School, Woodbridge, have included munching on Kendall Mint Cake and catching a 15cm crab.

She said: “I hope to raise funds for the Suffolk Foundation to help disabled young people get out and about, so they too can enjoy their surroundings, and to improve and enrich their lives in other ways.”

The foundation's CEO Stephen Singleton, who has also walked the route, said: “May's idea is inspirational and we are all right behind her.”

To sponsor her attempt, log on to www.justgiving.com/50mileswithmydad, and to see pictures and keep up with her experiences, visit: www.fiftymileswithmydad.com