A British man who lived in Bermuda for almost a decade has completed a gruelling 164-mile trek through Portugal and Spain in memory of his late father.

Andrew Morris, 63, appealed for sponsors last month for his 12-day hike through part of the ancient Camino de Santiago pilgrim’s way in honour of his father, Ralph, who died last September, aged 91.

Mr Morris said that the money would go towards community work run by his father’s old amateur football club, Dulwich Hamlet FC, based in south London.

He added that he endured exhaustion and blisters for a chance to reflect on his relationship with his father.

Mr Morris, who now lives near London, said: “I felt really close to my dad which was one of the main reasons why I did it.

“He helped me along the way when I was suffering a bit – he persuaded me because I knew he would be very disappointed if I gave up at any stage, so he was there looking down on me and helping me.”

He added that, when he finished the walk, he was “physically quite tired, but mentally very happy that I’d done it”.

Mr Morris said: “I felt very close to dad – it was a bit emotional but a very positive experience.”

The Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of St James, is a traditional Catholic pilgrims' route to the shrine of Saint James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain’s Galicia region.

Mr Morris, who lived on the island between 1982 and 1990 and worked in the insurance sector, hiked a section of the route called The Portuguese Way that started in the coastal city of Porto in northwest Portugal and ended in the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Mr Morris, now a travel writer based in London, said that he walked 22 miles on the first day and travelled most of the way on paved roads, which left him with muscle pain.

He added that he “was cycle-fit, but I wasn’t walking-fit” and struggled through some stages of the walk.

Mr Morris said: “The first few days I had some problems with a few muscles.

“The muscles got better as I got used to the walk each day, but the last few days I had some really bad blisters on my left foot.”

Mr Morris said that he chose to walk the route to reflect on his father’s memory rather than for religious reasons.

He added that he planned to go in April, but had to postpone the walk until September because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Morris said that he felt protected from the pandemic because of strict regulations enforced in Portugal and Spain.

He added that, while he spent most of his time alone, he met several pilgrims along the way, including a father and son duo who walked for religious reasons and a “crazy German” adventurer and filmmaker who walked the trek with the bare minimum.

Mr Morris said: “All he had were the clothes on himself and his iPhone to make a film.

He added: “Everybody else was walking with rucksacks and quite a lot of stuff on their back and he was walking with nothing as a principle to try and prove to people that you don’t need material things.”

Mr Morris said that he finished the walk on October 7 and ended his mandatory two-week quarantine last Saturday.

He added that he had only raised about £3,000 of his original £15,000 goal, but that he had lowered the target to £5,000 and would talk to Dulwich Hamlet FC about how they could raise additional funds.

Mr Morris also recommended that everybody walk a portion of the Camino de Santiago, regardless of their faith.

He said: “Everybody seems to get something for different reasons, whether it’s for religious reasons, whether it’s for personal reasons, whether you want to do something in solitude, whether you want to meet other people along the way.

“It varies by individual but it is a very special experience.”

To donate to Mr Morris’s appeal, visit https://chuffed.org/project/walking-the-portuguese-coastal-camino-in-memory-of-ralph-morris