INTREPID Monmouthshire environmentalist Ed Beverley-Jones is preparing to migrate thousands of miles following swallows as they leave Wales for Africa this autumn.

Swallow whisperer Ed, aged 43, based in Chepstow, sets off on his mammoth Wales Africa Wales bike ride this month in aid of St David’s Hospice Care.

Ed, known as the Pond Guy, is self funding the epic migration which will see him ride a bike for the first time in 20 years. He’ll pedal the donated bike from Wales through England across France to Spain, Portugal to Morocco and then back.

Ed is based in the county and makes a living looking after private ponds.

He will start his punishing two-wheeled adventure from the top of the Sugar Loaf mountain as a supporter has promised him £100 if he does so.

But why is Ed setting off now and following swallows as they migrate south and supporting St David’s Hospice care?

“Well for a start the pond business slows up in the winter and also I want to see where it is that ‘my’ swallows go.

“I keep all my pond equipment tools in a large old stone and timber barn in the countryside near Chepstow.  I see the swallows swoop in, in the spring, flutter about in the barn make their nests fly in and out to get their insect food from the nearby fields and woods and then gather with their young ready for their trip south.

“The one year I noticed that they were gathering but not going into the barn. They were waiting for me to open the top part of the big wooden doors so that they could get inside. Once I’d done that they tweeted as if to say thanks, swooped in and started making their nests.”

Ed, originally from Newport but who is currently living in Usk and who ‘talks’ to his swallows said: “I watch and communicate with them all summer and then in the autumn I watch as they prepare their fledgling young to make the journey to Africa. I started wondering about where they go and decided, well why not, I’ll follow their route to Africa. I haven’t been to Africa before.

I plan to follow their course all the way there and as soon as I set foot in Tangier in Morocco I’ll head straight back.

“I’ll take my own time on the ride foraging for food along the way, which I do as a matter of course in my everyday life picking blackberries and the like. I’ll also be hoping to get help and support from locals. I will be recording my trip along the way posting at least one video update each day so supporters can monitor my progress.

“I’m hoping to get more equipment donated before I go and have already got a solar-powered back pack which will help to charge my mobile and also some brilliant saddle bags.

“I am supporting St David’s Hospice Care principally as I lost one of my clients recently to a brain tumour.

“He received such wonderful care and attention from St David’s Hospice Care nurses who attended him at his home which he had worked so hard for all of his life. The St David’s Hospice Care nurses cared for him so wonderfully during his last days.

“His wife told me that as he lay in his bed at home he was really concerned about his pond. I was glad to be able to put his mind at rest by ensuring that the pond was in tip top condition. After he passed his wife was so grateful; she gave me a pair of trainers that he’d not had the chance to wear before he died. I shall be wearing those shoes on my trip in his memory.

“I shall be leaving Wales from Chepstow, the closet point to Africa in Wales and cycling all the way to Morocco, the closest place to Wales in Africa. I set off from the top of the Sugar Loaf at lunchtime on Thursday, 27th September and will cross the Severn Bridge after visiting the St David’s Hospice Care shop in Abergavenny on the 28th, Usk on the 29th and Moor Street, Chepstow, on the 30th.”

Ed is working hard on social media promoting his trip, posting daily updates of everyday life and little insights into how he is going to manage on his trip.

Find him on Facebook, support and follow his fantastic story. To donate visit the justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ed-jones4.