Barrow AFC fan and Bluebirds Trust chair Steve Herbert is home

Steve Herbert, chair of the Bluebirds Trust, set off on Sunday and stepped back onto his home turf yesterday. 

The 'exhausted but pleased' Steve did the journey entirely by bus, from National Express buses down the M6, to small buses taking him across the rural home counties. 

Steve in front of his favourite stadium, Valley Parade, Bradford

In the process he raised £3,000 which will go towards providing better access for local kids to sport through the trust's 'step up and play' initiative, and free tickets for under-16s to go to away games in the upcoming season.

However, Steve did have to change some of his plans during his journey. He said: "I decided after day two that I was going to have to sleep on a couch or in a room, it was significantly more challenging than I thought it would be."

Steve at Rodney Parade Stadium

Steve slept on sofas and in the odd guest room but never got more than four or five hours of sleep. To complete his journey on time he would be on the latest night bus he could find, and then the earliest morning bus the next day. 

When asked what his favourite stadium was, it was actually one of the last he visited.

"Bradford was my favourite," he said. "It just makes me so pleased that Barrow is in this league - the fact that we are playing crowds like that."

Steve at the Colchester United ground

His favourite section of the journey was getting a local bus from Colchester to Stevenage, which took him through rural Essex. He said it was an area that he 'didn't know much about'.

"I'm not as good at English geography as I thought I was," he said.

When he asked if his adventure was worth it, Steve said: "It was worth it mostly because we managed to raise some money and awareness towards access to sport. I'm not going to rush to do it again, but it was fun. I got to see parts of the England I will never get to see again."