TRAVELLING at between 10 - 20 miles a day, Vicky Cain and her horse, Thistle, made an unusual sight when they went through Yeoford heading for Hittisleigh on Sunday, August 22 on a 500-mile charity journey.

They left Dover on July 14, heading for Lands End with a break of a week when Vicky went home. She works on a farm in the Meon Valley near Droxford, Hampshire and does farm inspections. For a number of years she did carriage driving tours around Stratford-upon-Avon, carriage driving being a passion of hers.

Everything she needed was in her little two-wheeled gig pulled by Thistle who is a six-years-old traditional Gypsy cob. The cart also usually carried Vicky’s little dog, Izzy. They stayed overnight with friends or people they met along the way.

On Sunday, Vicky had left Silverton to head for Hittisleigh, travelling as always on minor roads. She said her one-horse power journey would “meander through Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset into Devon then Cornwall,” an area she knew little about.

She was raising funds for the South Devon-based charity Ambios, based at Lower Sharpham Farm, established in 2001 to provide nature conservation training in the UK and EU via traineeships and volunteering.

Ambios is working with United Response to provide real work experience for people with learning difficulties.

The other charity Vicky is supporting is Pearce Coggan Foundation based in Kent which helps people connect with nature by providing a fun and inclusive outdoor environment where people can experience farm life with a focus on where food comes from.

Donations may be made by accessing: gofundme.com/f/thistles-mission .