A DETERMINED Rogate man who unicycled the length of the South Downs has raised £5,000 for Prostate Cancer UK in memory of his father.

Tom Clowes of Fyning Lane said after his ride from Eastbourne to Winchester that although it had been “tough,” unicycling was “good for the soul.”

The 48-year-old added: “I lost my father to prostate cancer in 2005, and it is still one of the biggest killers of men in this country – my father might have still been alive today if they had caught it in time.

“I can see the South Downs from our cottage, and my dad was a marathon runner and always wanted to run the length of the South Downs Way. Doing this on one wheel will make him look down on us and smile.”

The mountaineer describes himself as an adventurer, and as well as climbing, among other peaks, Everest and Kilimanjaro, he has cycled and flown his paraglider all over the world.

He was accompanied on the 100-mile (161km) ride by his friend Neil Laughton, also a mountaineer, on his restored Victorian penny farthing bicycle.

Tom added: “It’s just something a bit different.

“People walk, run or cycle this route, but nobody will have seen two men ‘unicycle and penny farthing’ it before.

“It’s really the last thing you’d expect to see.”

The conditions were not ideal for the pair.

Mr Clowes said the first day was particularly challenging as the ground was wet and the route was off-road.

He said: “The penny farthing was cutting into the mud – it was slippery and we were getting blown about everywhere in the strong winds.

“Our knees were hurting – actually, everything was hurting.”

Tom took up unicycling six years ago with his children Sebastian and Daisy who, he says, are “much better” than him.

He can often be seen riding in the woods around Rogate with the family dog Milou running along behind.

He added: “It always generates a lot of smiles and laughs from people.

“It’s fun and it’s good for the soul.”

Mr Laughton, a 58-year-old penny farthing enthusiast from Henfield, West Sussex, raised £2,000 for The Starr Trust.