A MAN from Chester plans to travel thousands of miles across Europe on his motorbike to raise money for the Countess of Chester Hospital’s Babygrow Appeal.

Andy Davies, a 44-year-old electrical engineer based in Chester, sets to embark this Friday on a journey covering over 3,500 miles throughout 15 European countries – in just 15 days.

He said: "I’ve prepared the route loosely, so I can take advantage of anything that catches my eye to visit.

"I aim to travel about 300 miles per day on my Honda Africa twin adventure sport.’’

Mr Davies, whose wife, Lisa, sadly passed away last year, seeks to do it in her memory nearing the one-year anniversary of her death.

He said: "After my wife died, I decided to get into motorbikes, and what I thought would be a scooter to get around locally has quickly developed into a big adventure bike with the desire to explore.

"My initial thought was to tour a little, but a seasoned biker told me that I should do something for charity. So, soon my plans became bigger and evolved into the idea '15 countries in 15 days.’’’

Lisa, who volunteered selflessly for two decades within the Chester community, raised over £100,000 for charity.

Now Andy wishes to raise funds for a cause that his wife gave her heart and soul to – which directly impacted them both.

He said: "I chose the Countess of Chester Babygrow Appeal as both our children, William and Nicolas, spent eight weeks in the special care baby unit, each being born 13 weeks premature.’’

The Babygrow Appeal aims to fund the new neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Lesley Woodhead, head of fundraising at the Countess Charity, said: "Lisa was a much-loved volunteer who we all miss very much.

"She loved a tombola, selling raffle tickets or cakes! She was a natural fundraiser – always greeting patients and staff with a happy smile.

We think of her often when we are fundraising!’’

To donate to Andy’s Just Giving page and follow his progress, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/AndysEuropeanTour2019.