HIKER Richard Gidlow took his lifelong ambition to new heights -- by trekking across the French Alps in an amazing solo journey.

The 59 year-old, a social worker for Blackburn with Darwen Council, battled bad weather and illness to complete the exhausting 400-mile trek in five weeks.

Dad-of-two Richard started his mammoth journey on August 10 when he flew out to Lake Geneva, Switzerland, leaving behind his wife Ann, 59, who was unable to make the trip because she ruptured her Achilles tendon last year, and daughters, Karen, 33, and Nicola, 31.

With just a bizy bag -- a lightweight, one-man tent -- on his back, Richard walked along the borders of France and Italy, trekking between 12 and 15 miles a day and passing through resorts such as Val d'Isere.

He eventually completed his journey in Nice, in the south of France, last week.

Richard, of Euxton, near Chorley, said: "I have walked through Western Scotland and done coast-to-coast walks but nothing on this scale before.

"I just wanted to do something in a mountain area. It could have been anywhere in the world but it just happened to be the French Alps. It was very appealing.. Most days I was faced with a three- or four-hour climb."

Using the bizy bag and carrying enough emergency rations for two days, Richard walked through small villages in the Alps and camped in the wild.

He met up with fellow trekkers at mountain refuges and bought his rations in small village shops. Richard said: "I chatted to people I met up with but chose to do the trip alone. It was nice to meet other people but it was also nice to be alone and see the sights. My first real view of Mont Blanc is something I will always remember with the raw meltwater coming down from the permanent snowfields.

"I'll also remember seeing wild deer who were incredibly at home with people walking past."

Richard's trek was marred slightly by a two-day sickness and by violent thunderstorms near Mount Blanc. But he found a novel way of keeping in touch with his family back home.

He added: "Five weeks is a long time to be away from the family. I phoned home every chance I got but I also took a pocket recorder and recorded everything I did, what I saw and how I felt. I then posted the tapes back home so my family could, in a way, experience everything I was experiencing."