A WIDOWER has completed an emotional journey across the Himalayas to raise money for the hospice which cared for his wife.

Peter Davies, 56, of Pine Close, Rishton, raised more than £1,200 for East Lancashire Hospice after cycling 745 miles from Lhasa in Tibet to Kathmandu in Nepal, via Mount Everest Base Camp.

He took on the challenge in memory of his wife Barbara, who died from liver cancer at the hospice last year.

Peter joined a group of 15 other people as part of an organised trip.

He said: “It took us about 10 days to get to Base Camp, as we had to cycle over various passes to try and get aclimatised to the altitude.

“Then it took just four days to get back to Kathmandu because it was mostly downhill. It was emotional on the days that I was riding along at an easy pace and looking at the amazing scenery, thinking that I was only doing the trip because my wife, Barbara, had died, and that was a weird feeling.

“The most interesting thing was the culture and seeing the way people live out in the wild. We passed lots of Nomads living in tents who were living about 60 miles from the nearest village.

“But people were so friendly. Children would come running out when we cycled through and most of them could speak English, which was amazing.

“I actually left my mountain bike over there with an underprivileged school so they could sell it and raise some money. I wanted to do that because my wife worked with special needs children at St Peter and St Paul’s School in Rishton and I think she would have approved.”

Peter paid for the trip himself, with all the donations going to the hospice.

Sharon Crymble, fundraising manager at the hospice, said: “We were amazed when Peter told us about the challenge he had set himself and very grateful that he chose to do it.@