Man walking to Amsterdam from UK passing through Oxford

Dan Simms from South Wales is travelling to the Dutch capital on foot from Caldicot Castle in an attempt to raise money for two charitable causes.

The online strength coach and athlete is taking on the epic challenge after two of his friends, Rory Prettyjohns and Tom Baxter, passed away. 

He is on the fifth day of his journey and is entering Oxford having spent some of yesterday, including last night, in Abingdon.

Dan has been cheered on by locals so far on his journey. (Image: Dan Simms)

“The journey so far has been incredible and I have seen some amazing scenery, passed through some lovely villages, and met some great people,” said Mr Simms.

“I have also been in some amazing restaurants and hotels with the Hilton Hotel in Abingdon putting me up for the night and the whole community here has been incredible.”

The 24-year-old has previously done other feats in aid of charity but admits the walk to Amsterdam is his toughest adventure yet.

“This is the hardest challenge of my life,” said Mr Simms.

“I’ve done many mountain walks and I’ve even done a 24-hour walk of the Severn Bridge for charity in the past but nothing compares to this and the sacrifice that goes into it in different ways.

Dan has met lots of friendly faces along the way. (Image: Dan Simms)

“I think it will take another 11 days. The plan was to finish sooner than that but some injuries occurred, delaying me.

“On the ferry crossing, I am going to be doing 300 press-ups as a little extra challenge along with 700 more throughout the walk to equate to 1,000 in total.

“This is going to take around two weeks walking roughly a marathon each day with no rest days.”

So far Mr Simms has raised £4,360 for charity on his GoFundMe page and is aiming to reach £10,000 with both causes close to his heart.

Dan has been on his journey for five days so far. (Image: Dan Simms)

“It is in aid of men’s mental health and in memory of the two friends I had who sadly took their own lives.

“There are too many men silently suffering and I have known four men who have sadly taken their own life in the last few years.

“One of them was my best mate throughout childhood and another of them was a member of my local gym who I got on with really well.

“I am raising money for the families of those two mates as well as Andy’s Man Club who will receive 10 per cent of all money raised.

“I picked Amsterdam because I’ve always wanted to go but had a few flight cancellations so I thought I’d walk there instead.”

The Samaritans are available 24-hours a day for support. Their freephone number is 116 123 and further support is available by visiting www.samaritans.org.