‘My dad cycled to Australia in the 1980s, so now I’m following in his footsteps pedalling my way to Thailand’

A 25-year-old is following in his father’s footsteps by cycling from the UK to Thailand, covering around 120km a day, wild camping and even staying in hay barns during rainy nights.

Olly Hargreaves, from Poynton, Cheshire, was inspired by his dad, Phil Hargreaves, 62 – who cycled from the UK to Australia in 1984 – and has dreamed of doing something similar since he was around 10 years old.

After graduating from university in 2021 and securing a job as a product engineer in 2022, he began planning the trip and saving up.

He set off on April 17 this year, cycling across Europe through France, Germany, Austria and Croatia.

He plans to continue his journey through Turkey and Central Asia, eventually reaching Thailand at the end of the year, where he will reunite with girlfriend Ellie, 24, to travel around Asia and Australia together.

Olly told PA Real Life: “I’ve been wild camping in a lot of fields – coming through the end of Germany and Austria, there was a lot because of farmland and stuff.

“There was actually a lot of barns, so I ended up bivvying out in the hay barns, which was quite nice because I didn’t have to pitch up my tent.

“And it was quite rainy at that point as well, so it kept me dry.

“My dad is really proud of me and living vicariously through me, I think!

“He’s been so helpful to speak to along the way.”

“I grew up hearing these wild and amazing stories and I always wanted to do something similar… so the trip has been a long time coming,” Olly added.

After graduating from De Montfort University in 2021 with a degree in industrial and product design, he moved back in with his parents and became a design engineer.

He decided to take on the trip to Thailand this year so he could save up and get some work experience.

He saved around £6,000 for the journey to Thailand, and roughly the same again for travelling with Ellie.

He set off on his journey on April 17, taking his bike, tent, sleeping bag, camping stove, spare clothes and a power bank.

He said: “Germany was nice and flat and I actually got offered a place to stay by this really nice German couple who put me up for the night.”

He continued down to Munich, arriving on May 5 where he stayed in his first hostel of the trip, before cycling to Salzburg in Austria, going through Italy for a few hours and cycling into Slovenia via Lake Bled and Ljubljana, by May 10.

He then entered Croatia, passing through the capital Zagreb, where he stayed in a hostel to “finally have a chill” before entering Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 13.

He said: “That was the country where I was like, ‘OK, this is very different to the rest of Europe’.

“In Bosnia, I bivvied out in a little chapel-type area, which had like a little roof over it.

“When I’ve been actually pitching up the tent, I make sure I’m out of the way and leave no mess and leave no trace.”

On May 19, a friend joined him by flying into Tivat, Montenegro. Olly cycled back to Croatia, passing through Dubrovnik, and then down the coast into Montenegro to meet him.

“We cycled over to the middle of Montenegro, which was up a very big hill, and we worked out it was the height of cycling up Snowdon from sea level,” Olly explained.

“So it was a very big day to introduce him to it!”

The friends are now heading towards Albania and plan to cycle through Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greece and Turkey, where Olly’s friend will fly back to the UK from Istanbul.

Olly then plans to cycle through Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, where he aims to tackle the Pamir Highway, the second-highest international highway in the world.

His dad will also join him for that leg of the journey.

From there, Olly hopes to reach India, Nepal and Thailand by the end of the year.

“I’m excited for the next bit and to be in a different culture where everyone doesn’t speak English, I can’t wait,” he added.

Olly has been cycling around 120km a day, starting at 9am and setting up camp by 8pm, and while he has not had any “real disasters” so far, he has endured a few punctures “as expected”.

The journey has taught him about the “kindness of strangers”, which he believes will be the most memorable part.

He said: “I’ve had so many people offer me water and food, and most people that have done it have gone above and beyond.”

Olly has also been raising money for Alzheimer’s UK in memory of his grandmother, Maureen Hargreaves, who had the disease.

“I was really young but I saw her go from being absolutely fine and then her memory kept going,” Olly said.

“By the end of it, she didn’t really know where she was or who she was or who we were.

“I was always going to do the trip but I thought I should do a good thing along the way.

“I think she’d be proud of me.”

Olly has been documenting his journey on TikTok and Instagram to keep family and friends updated and to inspire others.

“You only live once so if you have the opportunity to travel, take it,” Olly said.

To donate to Olly’s fundraiser, visit: www.justgiving.com/page/oliver-hargreaves-cycling-the-world.

To keep up to date with his travels, visit: www.instagram.com/sagas.of_olly.hargreaves and www.tiktok.com/@ollyhargreaves1.