THE manager of Sidmouth Garden Centre will hop on a tandem-bike-for-two to help take town college youngsters’ green-fingered exploits on a 245-mile adventure to the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

A specially-adapted barrow, planted by Sidmouth College students, will be towed behind a cycle from Devon to London later this month.

The driving force behind the ride wants to raise �10,000 for charity and raise the profile of gardening in schools.

The trip is the brainchild of Alan Murdoch, the director of Fermoy’s Garden Centre in Newton Abbot.

He will cycle the entire distance to Chelsea joined by various gardening enthusiasts along the way, including the broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh.

James Trevett, manager of Sidmouth Garden Centre, will pedal the nine miles from the Devon County Show to Sidmouth.

“I’ve known Alan for years and he was talking about it an event one day,” said James.

“I thought it was a great idea and before I knew it I was signed up.

“It’s great that schools are involved in gardening and its great that I can do my bit to publicise what they’re doing.”

The Sidmouth College wheelbarrow has been “specially adapted” to cope with the journey from Devon to London.

“Gardening in schools is really important,” said James. “The earlier children can start gardening and learning about healthy eating the better.

“They love growing their own radishes, dusting them off and eating them straight away.

“They also get to learn about wildlife and the role of bees and insects.”

James has a few doubts about his fitness for the ride and apologised in advance for holding up traffic on May 17.

To sponsor the ride in support of Gardening Leave and Greenfingers, visit http://www.justgiving.com/wheelbarrow-ride.