A Newport adventurer who is no stranger to global expeditions is beginning a new challenge to canoe more than 1,500 miles down the River Danube this month.

Jeremy Reed, 61, will set off on Friday, August 19, with his brother Nicholas Reed, 68, and friend Mike Booth, 54, for the 73-day journey.

The three-man team will pass through eight European countries on the trip, beginning in Ingolstadt, Germany, before heading through Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, and ending in Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania.

The canoe journey is the latest challenge for the retired newspaper publisher, who has previously sailed and cycled around the world.

In 2009-10, the married father-of-two sailed in the Clipper Round the World yacht race before cycling from Newport to John O’Groats to Land’s End and back to Newport the following year.

In March 2015, he completed a year-long cycle ride of 15,000 miles from Newport to Melbourne, Australia, to see his youngest daughter Cathyrn, who moved Down Under in 2013.

He has raised thousands of pounds for various charities during his expeditions, and this time the trio taking on the Danube will be collecting for the Joshua Tree - who offer support to families affected by childhood cancer.

Mr Reed said: “I throughly enjoyed the cycling and I’m sure I’ll go back to it at some stage, but I’m always looking for new challenges.

“I didn’t want to climb a mountain so I thought I’d give canoeing a go. I mentioned it to my brother, who said he quite fancied it and another friend also expressed interest so we decided to do it as a team.

“The weather should be good in August and September, by the time we get to Bulgaria in October, it might turn a bit and we might have to start doing most of the paddling in the morning. But that’s part of the challenge and that’s what I look forward to most.

“We did some training with Ian Cave from British Canoeing to learn how to paddle correctly, but he did tell us 10 per cent of canoeing was learning it and 90 per cent was actually doing it.

“I’d like to thank Hou Canoes for their support as they did us a great deal with the canoes for the journey.”

To donate, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/JPR61 or to follow the trio’s progress, visit www.canoethedanube.wordpress.com.