Blindness is no barrier for former Merseyside police action man Bob who’s back on the beat for Maggie’s

When he first agreed to walk about 150 miles in March for Maggie’s Merseyside, Bob Coote jokes that he didn’t see the ‘0’ on the end.

“I’d already signed up when I realised it was 150 miles and not 15 as I’d first thought,” he laughs. “But I’d put it on Facebook and I was already committed – and the money was starting to come in!

“I couldn’t say no.”

Not that he ever would. The former head of Merseyside Police dog section, and a firearms officer, he raised £1,300 taking part in the ‘300,000-steps challenge in March’ for cancer charity Maggie’s Merseyside (now Maggie’s Wirral) last year.

And now it’s back in his sights again. 

A recent trek up Moel Famau with former walking colleague Ian Lowery

Refusing to let a lack of vision stop him – Bob is virtually blind – he’s agreed to do it a second time in 2022 – and this time he’s aiming higher than ever!

“I’m back on the mountains since I did the last walk, so I’m going to incorporate a climb in my steps this year.

“I’m going to walk up Moel Famau,” he smiles, not even flinching at the 1821ft Flintshire obstacle ahead.”

And he adds: “It gives me a great sense of satisfaction. I have always been an action man, I retired as head of dogs in Merseyside and I was an expert in explosive detection dogs. 

“Although I’ve lost my sight, I’m still quite fit for a 73-year-old.

“I go on every day trying to be happy – and things like this help.”

Bob is once again completing the challenge in memory of his late wife, Doreen, who was diagnosed with kidney cancer and passed away on Boxing Day in 2019; and by way of thanks to Maggie’s.

Maggie’s was a place where Doreen could unwind and relax while receiving help from the cancer support specialists, and where Bob sought help to deal with the grief when he lost her.

“They did so much for her – and for me.”

Losing Doreen was a ‘double whammy’ for Bob who’d lost his sight about three years before because of advanced glaucoma, leaving him registered severely sight-impaired/blind.

Bob’s back in the saddle – with Brian McDonald of Charlotte’s tandems charity

But he remains undeterred. Although he still misses Doreen, he gets on with his life like she would have wanted him to do.

“I’ve lost my driving licence, so I walk everywhere, and I’ve got back on the mountains,” says Bob, who’d previously completed climbing challenges like the famous Three Peaks.

“I’ve got friends who take me up strapped to them, and I’ve got one friend who talks me up and down.

“I’ve even started cycling again, with Charlotte’s Tandems (a charity that provides tandems and tag-alongs to people with disabilities or additional needs, and who are unable to ride a bike safely on their own).”

Bob has raised thousands for charities throughout his life, including funds for leaukaemia research and Motor Neurone Disease for which he did the Dirty Thirty – a three-mile walk through mud! – at the age of 60!

And he can’t wait to press the start button on ‘300,000 steps in March’.

Last year Bob completed the mammoth trek by walking 10 miles along the Wirral Way three times a week throughout the month, focusing on a point about 30-40 years ahead with the last remaining sight he has in one eye, and staying close to the wall.

A recent trek up Moel Famau with former walking colleague Ian Lowery (2)

And while he’ll do similar again this year, thrilled to be back on the mountains, he’ll be adding that climb too.

Bob says he doesn’t need to do any special preparation for the March challenge, other than ‘carry on walking’.

But he admits: “Last time I felt like Doreen was with me every step of the way. It was a real achievement for me, and for Doreen, because it means her legacy lives on.

“She would have been so proud.”

To help Bob raise money go to the FACEBOOK PAGE HERE.

If you’d like to take on the challenge go to the website HERE.

By Janet Tansley