A Dundee man plans to cycle 3,300 miles from Dundee to Spain in aid of a city homeless charity.
Mark Parsons, 54, hopes to raise around £10,000 for Parish Nursing, which operates out of the Steeple Church and carries out health outreach work with vulnerable Dundonians.
The Broughty Ferry man will use his trusty 30-year-old bike to complete the ride, which includes the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain.
Mark, a lead cancer pharmacist at Ninewells Hospital, said: “I’m preparing for my sponsored ride, which will start on April 30.
“I’ve done quite a bit of training on and off, and I have done a similar sponsored ride around the coast of Scotland before.
“I chose this charity because I know some of the nurses through the church I go to and I’ve also worked with one of them at Ninewells.
“I know that they do really good work, and there is definitely need for it in Dundee.”
Parish nurses are church or faith community nurses, but they work with people of all faiths and those who do not follow religion.
Parish Nursing started in the Steeple Church in 2008, initially supporting health promotion activities among people working in the city centre.
Mark added: “The parish nurse at that time also began to recognise that there were numbers of people around the city centre throughout the week who appeared to be affected by poverty, addictions and generally very poor health and well-being.
“So in 2009 an outreach work was commenced in partnership with NHS Tayside’s Health and Homeless Outreach Team.
“The aim was to take health care out to people where they were to people who often find statutory services very hard to reach and use effectively.
“The money I raise will help them to do their work.
“From a personal point of view, I’m also keen to do the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage as part of my route
“For half the journey I will be with my brother-in-law and then on my own.”
Mark said he plans to cycle around 100km a day depending on the weather conditions.