PENSIONER Midge Wise will be setting off on a sentimental journey today (Friday) to recreate an epic horse ride from Bristol to St Ives. When she was just 13, Midge rode her pony Queenie back to her home in Bristol from the Cornish town where she spent her summer holidays on a farm. She completed the six-day trip entirely on her own, ringing home each night so her parents knew where she was. Now 68 with three grown-up children and four grandchildren, Midge has decided to retrace her steps in reverse in a sponsored trek in aid of the children's cancer charity CLIC. "It's something I've thought about doing for about the last 20 years, so I thought it was about time I actually did it," said Midge, who lives in Holford. "It seems incredible that my parents allowed me to ride back from St Ives alone but it was 55 years ago and things were different then. "I'd been given the pony that I used to ride during my holidays and, in those days, arranging to get a horse box to transport her home was out of the question. "So riding her back to Bristol was the only option. "People keep telling me that it won't be like it was when I was 13 and I know that I will have to take quite a few deviations to avoid the busiest routes." Midge estimates that she will travel around 200 miles in all and her four legged friend this time will be a 12-year-old thoroughbred cross Welsh class horse called Tinker, who has been on loan for the past two months from his home in Little Quantock. "He's got a lovely nature and is very reliable so I have no doubts that he will get me there," said Midge. The horse loan was arranged through a friend in Holford and a local parish councillor Lisa Auton has persuaded her employers, Cannington-based dealership Tincknell Mitsubishi, to provide the transport to get Midge and Tinker to Bristol and bring them back from St Ives. Midge's husband Alan will also be "round every corner" and will carry the horse feed in his car to ensure Tinker doesn't go hungry. The Quantocks have proved an ideal training ground for Midge and Tinker, who have completed long rides over the hills for the last two months in preparation for their trip. "I'm really looking forward to it now," said Midge. "My family have been very supportive - I think my grandchildren are actually quite pleased with me. "I wanted to combine it with raising money for a good cause and I hope CLIC will get about £1,500 from this. "It's such an encouragement when you get sponsorship from people - it makes it all worthwhile."