A NORTH Berwick man will mark 30 years since he went blind by embarking on a marathon cycle journey across the British Isles this summer.

Ken Reid, who lost his sight three decades ago, will cycle to each of the five capital cities across the summer – a trip of about 750 miles.

The 56-year-old was diagnosed with the degenerative eye condition retinitis pigmentosa in 1986, and says there have been “many highs and lows” since he lost his vision.

He said: “We had no idea how to deal with it.

“The condition is untreatable so the doctors then had little more to say to me than to say I was going blind, and there was no one else for me to talk to!

“So began my journey into sight loss. The prognosis was correct, I have gone blind.

“The rest of the journey has been a real one of discovery with many highs and lows along the way.”

Ken has gone on to become an ambassador for the needs of blind and partially-sighted people.

A former chair of the charity RNIB Scotland, he will do the cycle ride on a tandem to raise funds for RNIB’s talking books audio library.

Ken, along with the first of a series of pilots accompanying him as co-cyclists, will leave Edinburgh on July 29 and cycle to Cairnryan, then take the ferry to Belfast, from where he will cycle to Dublin.

He will then take another ferry to Holyhead for Cardiff, and then on to London.

He hopes to complete the trip in about two weeks.

The North Berwick resident added: “The sight loss journey isn’t an easy one and I don’t intend that my cycle journey should be easy either.

“I will be riding a tandem, sitting on the back seat, and helped by a relay of pilots.

“They will navigate us through the parts of the country they will be familiar with, guiding me from the office of RNIB Scotland in Edinburgh, to the offices of RNIB Northern Ireland, RNIB Cymru and RNIB UK in London.

“By making this journey, I want to increase awareness of the journey that more than 100 people across the UK start every day towards sight loss.”

To sponsor Ken, visit www.just giving.com/Cycle750 or text to donate –CCLE75 £5 to telephone number 70070. Follow his journey on social media at facebook.com/cycle750