A 70 year-old adventurer was welcomed to Burnham-On-Sea over the weekend as he visited in his beloved Land Rover during a 3,500 mile coastal journey around Britain for charity.
Derek Hernaman is driving around the coastline in ‘George’, a 1956 Series One Land Rover, towing ‘Mildred’, a 1946 Safari Minor caravan.
Together, they are navigating the winding roads and unpredictable conditions of Britain’s coastline, raising money for Alzheimer’s UK and Bowel Cancer UK.
Several local residents and the team from Burnham-On-Sea RNLI were on hand to welcome him to the town on Saturday (March 8th), as pictured here.
Derek told Burnham-On-Sea.com his love of Land Rovers runs deep, rooted in childhood memories on his family’s farm in Croyde.
Over the decades, he has owned many of these iconic vehicles, but it was a Christmas gift that truly set the wheels in motion for this latest adventure.
“My son Dara gave me ‘The First Overland’ and ‘The Last Overland’ books for Christmas,” Derek says.
“They tell the story of an Oxford and Cambridge Land Rover expedition to Singapore. That journey really inspired me, and it got me thinking—why not do my own trip around Britain?
Derek’s mission quickly evolved into a fundraising challenge in memory of his best friend, Dave Irwin, who passed away from bowel cancer at just 43, and his sister, who succumbed to the same illness in 1999 at 52.
Alzheimer’s UK also became a focus, driven by the devastating impact he has seen the disease have on families.
Derek’s route is following a clockwise journey from Lynton, through Burnham-On-Sea to Bristol, across the Severn Bridge, through Wales, and beyond.
“I’ll be sticking to A-roads as close to the coast as possible,” he explains. “I’ll avoid motorways where I can, but sometimes they’re unavoidable.”
Planning such an ambitious trip has not been without challenges, and Derek says he is grateful for all the support he has received.
“The help I’ve had has been absolutely amazing. I don’t think I could have done it without everyone’s generosity.”
Derek is travelling solo but expects to meet many supporters along the way.
“There are people who want to tag along for parts of the journey,” he adds. “I’ll be posting daily updates on Facebook, so people can follow where I am.”
Derek has a Facebook page at Derek’s UK Coastal Landrover Challenge and his fundraising page is here.
