The countdown is well and truly on for a Old Colwyn adventurer as her prepares for his latest expedition in China.

Ash Dykes touched down in Beijing last week ready to begin his final preparations for his expedition to walk the length of the Yangtze River.

Having already become the first person to walk solo across Mongolia and Madagascar, Dykes is hoping his latest adventure will become another world first.

Dykes has labelled his latest mission the "most ambitious to date" as he will cover more than 4,000 miles over the course of a year, taking on the highest river source in the world – at an altitude of more than 5,100 metres and expecting to come acrss bears, wolves and snakes.

He said: “This is looking to be one of the greatest expeditions of this decade.

“This is the length of Mongolia, Madagascar and the UK in one expedition. It is a mammoth world first attempt that will be my greatest test yet. “I look forward to heading into the heart of China and seeing what I come across."

Dykes met with production teams and TV Channels last week in Beijing before he ventured to Shanghai for more meetings.

His next stop will be Dali where he will train in altitude and study Mandarin for the next few weeks until he head back to Shanghai for a big launch/farewell party before the expedition begins on the first week in July.

Dykes added: "I start the the first week of July, it’s been so busy with the business side, that as soon as I’m in Dali, I need to get my head in the game - train hard physically, mentally and get into the zone."