A former Cumbrian health chief, who has just completed a walk across key World War One sites, is calling for the trek to become an annual pilgrimage in memory of the fallen.

Professor John Ashton has been taking part in the Via Sacra walk, trekking across the Western Front – from Switzerland to the English Channel – to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.

The county’s former public health director, who still lives in Cumbria, recently retired as president of the UK’s Faculty of Public Health.

Prof Ashton, whose great uncle was killed in World War One, decided to sign up for the walk, organised by British historian Sir Anthony Seldon, alongside celebrities like television actor Dominic West, star of The Wire and The Affair , and English actress Cherie Lunghi.

Having already completed several sections of the huge route since June 22, he returned for the final trek to Nieuwpoort in Flanders, Belgium, with wife Maggie, finally arriving there on Tuesday.

Prof Ashton, 69, now wants to see Sir Anthony’s vision, to make the walk an annual pilgrimage, become reality.

“One hundred years have now passed since World War One. It is now outside living memory,” he said.

“Until now we have commemorated it well. But the question now is what will happen in the future? How long will all the war graves and memorials be maintained? They will probably fall into disrepair, unless the entire Western Front can become a living monument.

“If it could become a walking route, like the Hadrian’s Wall route of Coast to Coast cycle we have over here. That will be the way to keep the memory alive. Some parts of the route are well maintained and used by school parties for example, but others are not.”

Sir Anthony organised the Via Sacra walk after coming across a letter from soldier Alexandar Douglas Gillespie, who was later killed at the Battle of Loos. In it he proposed a European war memorial, a 450-mile via sacra (sacred road) to run between the trench lines from Switzerland to the English Channel. He wrote: “I would like to send every man, woman and child in western Europe on pilgrimage along that via sacra, so that they might think and learn about what war means.”

Prof Ashton is encouraging UK schools to keep visiting the Western Front, and where possible to go to other parts of the Via Sacra than they have in the boost the profile of the whole route.

He also wants the French and Belgian governments to support it.

“It is going to be an annual pilgrimage. Anthony Seldon has already arranged to lead a group next year and the year after, but long term I’d like to see some investment,” he said.

Prof Ashton said taking part in the walk was very special, speaking to others who had lost relatives, seeing for himself where the fighting took place and remembering the fallen at The Somme.

“It was poignant and incredibly sad, but also enjoyable. I would recommend it to everybody,” he added.