Cyclist sets off on 25,000km journey from Scotland to Australia for mental health charity Ewen's Room

A man from Fort William is undertaking the adventure of a lifetime as he takes on a mammoth eight-month cycling challenge – riding from Scotland to Australia.

Charlie Troman, 28, is taking on the solo 25,000km bike ride – cycling from Ben Nevis in the Highlands to Ben Nevis in Tasmania – in a bid to raise funds for a mental health charity based in Lochaber.

He set off on June 1, climbing up to the peak of Scotland’s Ben Nevis with his bike before descending and heading off on his journey.

The challenge will see Charlie cycle across 23 countries and three continents, before finishing at the peak of the Tasmanian mountain.

“The next few months, I’m going to have all sorts,” Charlie said.

“Starting off, obviously, I’ve got to get down the UK to Dover, then get across the continent, and then I think that’s where the real adventure’s going to start.

“In a month’s time I should be in Istanbul, another month from there I should be in Kazakhstan – the ‘stans’ are what I’m looking forward to the most.

“Then all the way across north-central Asia, India… There’s so many countries in Asia I’m really buzzing to see.

“I’ll hopefully get a bit of better weather over there than compared to here at home!”

While sightseeing is on Charlie’s to-do list, the challenge is ultimately all for a good cause.

He’s raising money for Ewen’s Room, which was set up in memory of Ewen Gillespie, who died in 2008.

The charity offers a number of services to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people and adults in Lochaber and across the west Highlands, and seeks to challenge the associated stigma.

Charlie said: “They do great work giving people a voice to be able to talk about their mental health, but also giving them an ear through counselling, to hear what they need to say and get it off their chest.

“I’m raising money for them, but a lot of it is also getting the conversation going.

“The important thing is getting people talking about mental health, because it’s just a conversation people aren’t having.

“If you just ask someone how they’re doing, or if you pluck up the courage to ask someone for a bit of help, that’s the work done for me.

“Even if I start one conversation, I’m happy with the work I’ve done.”