Horse-drawn wagon trip from Banbury to Edinburgh and back for charity

Daisy Sadler set off on her epic journey with her two Belgium draft horses and dog last month, travelling roughly 50 miles a week via the UK’s minor road network over five months.

The owner of a horse and carriage service from Lower Tadmarton was inspired to support The Brain Tumour Charity after hearing about Middleton Cheney's Imogen Whitby who died of a brain tumour in January last year.

The charity’s director of fundraising, Geraldine Pipping, said: “All of us at The Brain Tumour Charity were deeply moved by Imogen’s story and by her parents’ determination to help others following their terrible loss.

"It is a fierce reminder of why we have to find a cure for brain tumours, which kill more children in the UK than any other form of cancer.

"We are hugely grateful to Daisy for raising awareness and vital funds for brain tumours, so that young lives are saved, and more families are spared the heartache caused by this devastating disease.

“We receive no government funding and rely entirely on voluntary donations and gifts in wills, so it’s only through the efforts of supporters like Daisy that we can work towards our twin goals of doubling survival and halving the harm caused by brain tumours.

“Daisy is taking on an incredible and unique challenge. We wish Daisy, Olive and Arthur, lots of luck on their epic journey and we’ll be cheering them on every step of the way.”

Daisy has been involved in draft horses since the early 1990s, and runs Sydney’s Exploditions, providing horse and carriages for special occasions.

Her horses, Olive and half-brother Arthur, weigh nearly two tonnes between them, and have lived with Daisy since they were imported from Germany in 2013.

This is not the first time Daisy has travelled across the country via horse and cart - in 2015 she journeyed from Banbury to the Lake District, a trip which took ten weeks to complete.

Since then she has been keen to plan her next adventure, however unfortunate setbacks included Daisy’s battle with pneumonia in 2017, and surgery for horse Arthur to treat a deep-seated hoof abscess in 2016.

Followers can track Daisy’s progress via Facebook and donate via www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sydsplodsgoesnorth or text ‘SYDS73’ followed by the donation amount (e.g. SYDS73 £5) to 70070.