A woman from Cheshire is set to become the first blind person to travel around the world on a motorbike.

Catherine Birchall’s unique two-wheeled trip will see her ride pillion across Europe, Asia, Australia, and America in an effort to help raise more than £250,000 for charity.

Catherine, who is totally blind, is leaving her guide dog, Biscuit, at home in Warrington to undertake the epic journey. Her companion Bernard is even set to sell his home in order to finance the expedition.

As well as generating cash for essential services, she hopes the voyage will help foster better relations between international organisations tackling visual impairment.

She said: “It’s an incredible challenge but a very worthwhile one. There are two million people with sight loss in Britain. Simple facilities such as software to enable reading and writing can make such a difference to our lives. All of that costs money and, unfortunately, there isn’t always enough to go around.

Catherine will be piloted on the trip, which is scheduled to start in March 2008, by Bernard Smith, an employee of the Royal National Institute for the Blind.

The couple will head through Europe to Russia and on to India and China before making their way to Australia. They will then cross the Pacific by plane before restarting their journey in South America, continuing north towards Canada and – finally – home.

En route, they will be dropping in on a number of projects to help visually-impaired people in some of the countries they’ll be crossing. Recent figures from the World Health Organisation suggest that there are 161 million people suffering with sight disabilities across the globe. Of those, some 50 million are blind.

Catherine’s fund-raising effort is in aid of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), Action for Blind People and the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (GDBA).

She added that she wasn’t quite sure what to expect – other than being saddle-sore. “Bernard and I have been on a few trips to Europe before but nothing on this scale. By taking on the trip, we will be doing more than merely raising money. We will also be raising awareness.

“We want to raise awareness and people’s hopes that even if they lose their sight, it shouldn’t necessarily mean placing boundaries around their expectations or ambition.”

To see more on this amazing trip, you can see their website at http://www.worldtour.org.uk

Source Guide Dogs UK