IT'S a distance of 500 miles, will take 30 days to complete and sits under the summer sun of France and Spain.

But the well-trodden pilgrimage route from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela is a challenge Nicole Haegeman is savouring.

The 19-year-old, from Gelliswick in Milford Haven, will be taken on the trek in July to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis in honour of her aunt, Helen Durham, who died from the disease.

"It is one of the UK's largest charities dedicated to the 85,000 people, their families and carers who are affected by MS, a disease of the central nervous system," she explained.

Nicole, who will be leaving to study at the University of Durham in October, will walk on her own for up to 20 miles a day and her progress will be tracked by Rickeston Nursing Home, where she currently works.

"I have always wanted to do a trek, ever since I heard about the pilgrimage route. This is first time that I have done anything like this so I am very, very nervous, but excited."

The intrepid explorer, who only returned to her native county in October after living in Jakarta, is looking for donations to help reach her target of at least £2,000 for Multiple Sclerosis.

To make a donation visit the website at www.justgiving.com/nicolestrek.