Shreddie the dog may find her daily walks a little more strenuous than usual, when she sets off on a 630-mile hike along the south-west coastal walk, to raise money for Kingston Bereavement Service.

The six-year-old wheater terrier will also use her blogging skills to keep Kingston school children updated on her adventures with Surbiton-resident David Scott around some of England’s wildest shores.

The pair aim to raise £5,000 in memory of Mr Scott’s wife Mitsou, who died of secondary breast cancer a year ago. They will start at Minehead, Somerset, on March 10, which would have been her 50th birthday.

Mr Scott sold his digital printing business to undertake the eight week walk, and said: “I had been doing various fundraising events since she was ill but after she died I felt it was about the people who were left behind.

“When she finally died I thought ‘I need to do something else but I don’t know what’, so I just thought I will give up work. People on their deathbed never say I wish I had spent more time at work.”

The team of one man, his dog and a tent plan to walk between nine and 16 miles a day, and said the uphill sections were the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest three times.

Mr Scott hazarded a guess about the dog’ first blog post, and said: “For the first couple of days it will be quite normal but after that she will be saying ‘what’s going on’. I don’t want to have to start carrying her.”

He praised the bereavement service, and said: “It is just somewhere where you can go and sit and cry for an hour if you want. They completely understand what is going on.

“Some people think ‘I will be fine’, but I needed to just express myself and feel whatever we need to feel.”

Readers can follow Shreddie’s adventure at tinyurl.com/shreddie. Donations can be made at justgiving.com/mitsou, or cheques payable to Kingston Bereavement Service can be sent to 53-55 Canbury Park Road, Kingston KT2 6LQ.