A PRIMARY school teacher who suffered a serious head injury is swapping the classroom for the great outdoors.

Nat Spring gets on his bike today (Thursday) as he plans to visit various places in Scotland.

The 50-year-old will leave his home on North Berwick’s Lime Grove and head for Inverness, Aberdeen and St Andrews before going on to the Scottish Borders and finally the Isle of Mull and the Outer Hebrides.

Mr Spring was working as a primary school teacher at Regius School in Newcraighall when he suffered a serious head injury during a school trip in March last year.

The class was visiting Dirleton Castle when he banged his head inside the castle’s dungeon.

Initially diagnosed with concussion, he developed post-concussion syndrome which has prevented him from returning to teaching.

The condition has been life-changing and he now experiences memory loss, sensitivity to light and noise, as well as severe fatigue.

Since then, he has been unable to return to the classroom and last autumn cycled from Berwick-upon-Tweed to Annan in aid of head injury charity Headway.

Now, he is taking part in a 40-day wellbeing challenge and is encouraging others to support him by completing their own challenge and doing something that is meaningful to them over 40 days.

Mr Spring said: “My recovery has been slow. It has taken me more than a year just to feel confident on a bike.

“I set myself this challenge as it gave me something to work towards. I’ll be travelling solo, exploring new places and clocking in around 20 miles each day.

“I’m feeling very motivated and hope that my tour inspires others to take on their own challenges.

“If I can do it, anyone can.”

Mr Spring, who previously taught at Belhaven Hill School in Dunbar, has also been supported by the John Muir Trust.

The charity, formed in 1983, aims to conserve wild land and wild places for the benefit of all and administers the Des Rubens and Bill Wallace Grant.

The grant was set up in honour of Bill Wallace, who died of heart failure in February 2007 while skiing in the Alps at the of 73 with two artificial hips, and Des Rubens, a popular teacher at Craigroyston High School in Edinburgh who was killed in June 2016 in an Alpine climbing accident at the age of 63.

Mr Spring received £230, which will go towards a tent for his cycling trip, Also offering a helping hand is Macdonald Hotels and Resorts.

Mr Spring has been using his local gym at Macdonald Marine Hotel and Spa in North Berwick for 18 months.

Then, when he is on the road, the hotel group has offered him a place to stay while he is cycling.

For more information on Mr Spring’s journey, go to 40days.org.uk