Dad to walk from Wigan to Standish in 80kg vintage diving suit
A Wigan dad known for pushing his body to the limit in wacky fund-raisers has revealed plans for his next gruelling charity challenge.
Nigel Brookwell, 51, is getting back inside a vintage deep-sea diving suit, complete with a helmet, boots and lead weights, which weighs around 80kg.
And he is aiming to walk all the way from Daffodils Dreams’ boutique, on Wallgate in Wigan town centre, to The Boars Head, on Wigan Road, Standish.
He will stop at a few pubs and other locations along the way, to rest his weary feet and collect donations for Daffodils Dreams, which supports children and families in Wigan facing hardship.
Nigel, who lives in Swinley, said: “It’s about three miles. It’s all uphill, so it won’t be easy.
"I’m doing it to attract attention, because when I’m in the suit I’m nearly 7ft tall. Hopefully that will trigger donations for Daffodils Dreams.
"I want to raise £10,000 for them. I might as well think big and be ambitious. I’m not doing all this just to raise a few quid, I want it to be a meaningful sum of money."
Nigel does not know how long the slow, tough walk will take, but he will be joined by a group of supporters who will help with tasks such as removing the heavy helmet at rest stops.
He is taking on the challenge on Saturday, June 28, but is already busy preparing for it.
He has borrowed parts of the suit from a museum in Portsmouth, has secured the loan of a helmet which is more than 100 years old and has had work done to the heavy shoes at a repair shop in Wigan town centre.
Nigel has also started training for the challenge in the gym, working on both his strength and endurance, but knows he could still face physical issues like cramp on the day.
But nothing is going to stop the dad of two.
“It's going to take a while and it’s really going to hurt, but I am motivated to do it,” he said.
Nigel has raised thousands of pounds for good causes in recent years by taking on unusual challenges and pushing his body to the limit.
In 2023 he walked from Wigan town centre to Standish wearing only a kilt and carrying a 35kg sandbag. He spent the night blindfolded in the stocks outside St Wilfrid’s Church, before walking back to Wigan in the same attire.
The year before, he crawled on hands and knees from Wigan to Standish in a literal “pub crawl”, which took a gruelling eight-and-a-half-hours to complete.
Nigel previously wore the 80kg vintage diving suit to take part in two challenges climbing Ben Nevis and Snowdon as part of a relay team.
He has also pushed a hospital bed for 10 miles at Run Wigan Festival and walked part of the Wigan 10k in a lighter version of the vintage diving suit.
To support Nigel in his latest challenge for Daffodils Dreams, go to localgiving.org/fundraising/Nige-s-No-Rush-Challengesupportingdaffodilsdreams.