Penmaenmawr adventurer Claire Roberts is embarking on an 18,000km cycle ride from Deeside to the Greek island of Lesvos to raise awareness of the plight of refugees.

The 55-year-old plans to live on just £7 per day - the basic amount an asylum seeker is given to live on in the UK - and the journey around the coast of the UK and Europe will take a year to complete.

Her goal is to raise £18,000 for UK-based international refugee charity Choose Love, raising awareness of the challenges facing refugees across the world on the way. Her destination is a major landing area for refugees in the Mediterranean-  the Kara Tepe refugee camp on Lesvos.

"I could not simply sit back and do nothing," said Claire. "There are so many people suffering and trying to escape terrible situations to give their families a life. 

"Having travelled extensively by bike before and visited Lesvos on a previous trip, I felt taking on this challenge and restricting myself to the daily allowance of a UK asylum seeker would help shine a light on this humanitarian problem."

Claire will travel alone, wild camping and where possible using basic facilities at campsites and beaches. Her biggest challenge will be securing visas within the Eurozone and passing through each territory within the time those visas allows.

"Taking on a journey like this can be scary," she said. "But refugees take these journeys on all the time in the search for a safer life. According to the UNHCR there are 110 million people who have been forcibly displaced throughout the world.

"There is a safety element. While I'm tracking my journey I won't be publishing where I am staying until afterwards - although those closest to me will know.

"I will need to be aware of the dangers of stray dogs and, in some places, bears. But the biggest risk will be strangers. Fortunately my previous travels have shown me that people are fundamentally good hearted and I feel excited to meet new people as I go." 

Claire has previously spent years travelling across continents. In 2015 she was on a round-the-world cycle ride when the European migrant crisis erupted.

She worked in a warehouse in Szeged, Hungary sorting donated clothing, then on the beaches of Lesvos helping people who arrived by boat before helping resettle Syrian families in Izmir, Turkey.

In recent years she has shared her Penmaenmawr home with a Ukrainian family escaping the war with Russia. As further humanitarian tragedies unfold in Europe and the Middle East, Claire decided to take action.

"I felt increasing desperation for the plight of refugees and I just couldn't keep watching these horrors unfold from the comfort of a warm, secure home,” she said.

"Whether in the Ukraine or Gaza, even Libya, there are people all over the world who are facing unimaginable suffering and it is vital we do what we can to help them."

She will take only what she can carry, including her tent, and her daily fund will come from savings plus a £3,000 grant she won from the Armchair Adventures Choice Awards earlier this year. 

"It will not be easy, I'll miss my family and friends, but they are really supporting me," said Claire. 

"They used to worry about me going on these epic journeys but they are used to it now and they get as excited as I do.

"There's a lot or preparation for a trip like this but I'm ready."

Supporters can make a donation here: https://donate.chooselove.org/supporters/long-distance-18000-kms-bike-ride/1341

To follow Claire's progress, visit her Facebook page Where's Claire at www.facebook.com/madlobster75.