A CHURCH warden has raised £3,200 for an 800-year-old chapel that stands in a cow field by walking 490 miles across the Pyrenees.

Joanne Aston, of Over Silton, near Thirsk, said she encountered a heatwave and a week-long flea attack as she walked the Camino Frances pilgrim trail from St Jean Pied de Port, in France, to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain.

Mrs Aston, 56, walked about 13 miles a day for 37 consecutive days to complete the route.

She said: “My feet were killing me. It seemed as though I was always walking up a hill. The Mesetas, flat expanses of desert a thousand metres high which lack trees, rivers or shade, were a huge endurance test.”

The retired council worker said she aims to raise £5,000 for St Mary Magdalene’s Church in the village, which needs £46,000 for repairs.

It has no electricity and features a Saxon font and roof beams made from old ships' timbers.

To contribute, visit www.justgiving.com/joanne-aston.