UPDATE: Patricia has completed the walk and since raised an amazing £1500.

A charitable Macclesfield schoolgirl is walking miles to raise money for the Open Spaces Society, after realising how fortunate she was to go on walks during lockdown.

Secondary school pupil Patricia Wittbom (11), who attends Tytherington School, has already raised £835 ahead of her big 12-mile fundraising walk on Sunday 2nd May.

All monies raised on the JustGiving page will go to the Open Spaces Society, who fight for stronger protection and opportunities for everyone to enjoy green spaces, commons, village greens and paths.

Patricia came up with the idea after learning of The Tythy Challenge - an extra-curricular programme for Year 7s at the school, which challenges pupils to enrich themselves.

"During lockdown I felt really lucky because I could go out and walk and play every day in the beautiful countryside where we live," said Patricia.

"But I realised not all people could do that during lockdown. Some people live in busy places.

"So when I took up The Tythy Challenge, I thought it was a good idea to do something to help - so I chose the Open Spaces Society because it helps make sure everyone has access to green space near where they live."

Patricia will walk from Kerridge, near Bollington, to Lyme Cage, near Disley, following the Gritstone Trail, and back again.

While The Tythy Challenge does not require fundraising, Patricia chose to do it as she wanted to help others.

She will get a certificate for completing her walk, but will need to later do tasks which promote other key values of the school such as being articulate, and curiosity, to complete The Tythy Challenge.

"I feel really excited as I haven't done it before. It is a challenge and I am really looking forward to it. I have done six-and-a-half mile walks in Sweden [Patricia's mother is Swedish] but I have never walked this far before," she added.

"I also haven't done anything for charity before. I want to say thank you to everyone who has donated it is really appreciated. It is really kind of everyone.

"I was pretty surprised because it was meant to be just £500 I wanted to raise, and I have got way over that.

"I hope that people look into the work of the Open Spaces Society and help it to keep spaces open for future generations."

Self-employed Step-Dad John (44) will accompany Patricia on the walk.

He is overjoyed with step-daughter's crowdfunding success.

"I'm super proud of Patricia. She has taken on her school's challenge and she particularly wanted to do something that would help other people" he said.

"It was very nice to see that she could appreciate what she has around her, in challenging times, and to have empathy for the situation of other people who might have struggled with the isolation of lockdown.

"There are people that we don't know who have donated money as well, which is lovely.

"She is raring to go and we are very excited for the walk."

The national charity Patricia has raised almost a grand for was founded in 1865, and is Britain's oldest conservation charity.

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society said: 'We are overjoyed that Patricia has chosen to raise money for the Open Spaces Society.

"We campaign to protect and create green spaces and paths for everyone to enjoy. In the last year these have become more important than ever, as people discover their local spaces and paths and appreciate their value for health and wellbeing.

"We are deeply grateful to Patricia for recognising our work, and we hope she has a truly wonderful walk."

You can donate to Patricia's campaign on the JustGiving page here.

You can find more about the Open Spaces Society on their website.

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