A FORMER soldier who crossed Australia on wild horses is preparing for his next epic adventure in the saddle.

Garry Parker, 62, from Bridestowe, is planning to set out from Land’s End on horseback in late May, heading via a scenic route for John O’Groats in the north of Scotland.

His adventure of more than 1,000 miles will raise money for Help for Heroes, a cause dear to his heart. In his younger days, he served in the King’s Troop, Royal Artillery in London where soldiers learn the skills to drive horse drawn carriages for state occasions.

He’ll be riding alone, leading a second horse loaded with everything he needs for the journey.

‘I’m going to take about four months to do the ride,’ says Garry. ‘I spoke to one lady who rode from Land’s End to John O’Groats in eight weeks, but I don’t want to rush it. For me it is about seeing places along the route, meeting people along the way, raising money for Help for Heroes and also enjoying the journey – because if you don’t enjoy the journey, what’s the point?’

The ride follows his 5,000 mile trek across Australia in 2015. The solo journey, on wild horses, known as brumbies, also raised money for Help for Heroes.

Garry carried all his equipment on his second horse and slept under canvas miles from anywhere. He had a few close shaves, running out of food and water several times and having to hitchhike into towns hundreds of miles away to restock with supplies.

‘The bush out there isn’t a forgiving place and I learned a lot about how to survive,’ he says. ‘Sometimes I’d just sleep on a pile of rocks at night. At one point I went without water for myself and my horses in scorching heat. I had to hitchhike into a town which took me a day and a half and then hitchhike back again to get food for them.

‘The idea for the ride started in my head when I was riding through the bush in Australia and I met some incredible people along the way, who were kind, generous and incredibly enthusiastic about a pom going out to Australia and doing this.

‘As I was going along through the Australian bush, I was thinking would my own people be this kind to a stranger? I wasn’t sure they would, but in fact in planning this route, I realised that the same kindness is still to be found here in Britain. I’ve had so much help and enthusiasm from people and offers of accommodation. One lady even wanted me to stay for a week, to help with driving her horses.’

Garry will have back-up on his Land’s End to John O’Groats odyssey, with his wife Tracey travelling separately in their motorhome.

He will be taking his own horses, which are stabled on his land at Bridestowe.

The Land’s End to John O’Groats route is officially 874 miles, according to the fingerposts at each end of the journey. However, Garry’s route will be much longer, taking in much of the scenery of the Westcountry, Wales, northern England and Scotland.

After setting off from Land’s End, he will travel along the Camel Trail near Bodmin, across the moor to Tavistock and then up to Okehampton, riding over Dartmoor.

Beyond Okehampton, he plans to ride along the Tarka Trail and through Exmoor, over the Quantocks to the Mendips and on up to Keynsham between Bristol and Bath.

He says his plans to ride across the Severn Bridge had been thwarted by officialdom, so his horses – one which he rides, one which carries his bags – will make that journey in a horse trailer.

‘After that I will ride across Monmouthshire, heading for Abergavenny and Brecon, then to Snowdonia, before taking a right to go south of Manchester,’ he said. From there, he will ride up through the Pennines and up towards the Cheviots in Northumberland, following the remains of the Roman road Dere Street. In Scotland, Garry will continue up to Edinburgh and then to Glencoe and Fort William on the west coast.

He’ll then diagonal back on himself to head up to John O’Groats.

‘Scotland is a lot like Australia in a sense, because there are very few people there,’ he says. ‘We’ve driven as much of the route as we can in preparation, mapping it out.’

Find out more on Garry’s Riding for Heroes page on Facebook.