A BANBURY company boss plans to walk, row and cycle almost 1,200 miles from the Scilly Isles to the Shetland Islands in just 25 days.

Intrepid Andrew Fairbairn, 51, hopes to raise thousands of pounds to send disabled African children to school.

Called the Fairbairn Challenge the father-of-six will kick start his adventure on June 1 by kayaking 27 miles from the Scilly Isles to Land’s End.

The rest of the trip will be a mixture of walking, cycling and kayaking until he reaches his final destination Muckle Flugga Lighthouse in the Shetlands.

During the 1,180-mile trip grandfather Mr Fairbairn will stay with members of the Rotary Club up and down the country to cut costs of the trip.

He hopes to raise about £25,000 for School for All in Africa, which is run in partnership by charity Leonard Cheshire Disability and Rotary International.

Mr Fairbairn, a member of Banbury Rotary Club, said: “I am training on a regular basis as I will cycle for 85 miles on an average cycling day during the Challenge.

“On a day when I will kayak I will cover around 27 miles and the longest I will walk will be 105 miles over five days that will take me across part of the Pennine Way.

“It will be a physically and mentally demanding journey but I relish the prospect of getting on with the Challenge and meeting my fellow Rotarians and people from Leonard Cheshire Disability as I travel the country.

“The route takes in many areas of outstanding natural beauty and one particular highlight will be the sense of history kayaking along Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands on June 23.”

Mr Fairbairn, managing director of Fairbairn Wild Chartered Surveyors, was prompted to do his bit to help the charity after finding out startling statistics about disabled children in Africa.

He said: “I was shocked to learn that over 90 per cent of disabled children in Africa do not go to school and I hope to raise £25,000 for School for All in Africa by undertaking the challenge.

“I believe it remains our collective responsibility and obligation to make the world’s children our priority and to find our own individual ways to contribute to their future.”

Robin Haslam, national community fundraising development manager at Leonard Cheshire Disability, said: “The work of School for All in Africa is vital as it is widely recognised that access to education in developing countries is key to beating poverty.

“A continued exclusion from educational opportunities means that disabled children can become trapped in a cycle of poverty that they are powerless to escape.”

Anyone who would like to sponsor Mr Fairbairn can go to justgiving.com/andrewfairbairn