Devoted son walking Camino de Santiago trail from France to Spain to raise money for Southampton hospitals charity in mum’s memory

A DEVOTED son is carrying out his late mother’s greatest wish by walking along the Camino de Santiago trail from France to Spain to raise money for Southampton Hospitals Charity.

Marcus De Luca revealed how it was his mother Ros’s “dream” to complete the 800km pilgrimage pathway, which dates back to the beginning of the 9th century.

But sadly in the summer of last year Ros, from Lymington, was diagnosed with lung cancer at University Hospital Southampton where, Marcus said, she “put up a brave and elegant fight against the disease”.

By new year, the cancer had spread and she died in March.

Marcus (54), from Brentford in Essex, said: “I am heartbroken, but full of admiration for the doctors, nurses, and the entire staff at the oncology unit.

“Throughout mum’s treatment they were professional, dedicated, and, above all, kind and compassionate.

“Mum was always full of life and loved to do the unexpected. She was a beautiful woman with a big personality and sharp wit, always living life to the full.

“It was her dream to walk the Camino de Santiago trail, also known as the Way of St James, so I decided to walk it on mum’s behalf and raise money for the hospital along the way.”

Marcus started out on 15th August from France along the Camino Frances trail, which ends in Santiago de Compostela, hoping to compete the whole route in five weeks.

He said: “Mum leaves a proud legacy of love, a love that was, and shall forever be, unwavering and unconditional.

“I wanted to do something that would make her proud, having already raised more than £10,000 for Southampton Hospitals Charity and the oncology unit that did all they could for my mum.”

Marcus has been documenting his travels on social media, posting stunning photos of sights he has spotted along the way.

Ros’s partner David Chong said: “He has done about a third of the route so far and is doing really well and enjoying the challenge. He is very fit but is finding the extremes of weather difficult.”

To donate, visit https://southamptonhospitalscharity.org/walking-the-camino-de-santiago-trail-for-southampton/