Three men and a Panda set off for Mongolia

Heard the story about the three middle-aged blokes who drove a Fiat Panda 11,000 miles from London to Mongolia? No, us neither.

But this tall tale is about to become a reality for Hammersmith landscaper and Christmas tree trader Hew Stevenson. The well-known founder of Shoots and Leaves garden design and construction firm is packing his bags and heading East on Friday July 26.

Hew (pictured above) will be joined by mates Grant Jacobs and Tony Shilling – dubbed the Mongol Mongrels – as they raise money for a trio of charities during their rally. Their nominated causes include Cancer Research UK, Irish Cancer Society and Prostate Cancer UK. And without even turning the key in the ignition the trio have raised more than £13,000.

Horton and Garton is proud to be sponsoring the guys in their epic quest. John Horton, founder, said: “I wish the guys all the luck in the world. And it looks like they might need it!”

The guys will navigate their 1.2 litre Italian roadster on a ‘planned’ route (cough, cough) departing England via Eurotunnel to France, and then crossing Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria, pop into Turkey and Iran before turning left to head up through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, followed by a quick right turn into Mongolia and finally a wee detour into Russia.

What could go wrong?

Grant told us: “When Hew starts a sentence with ‘I had a thought…’ it usually ends with us grabbing our passports, doing a Google Maps search, booking a budget airline and begging forgiveness from our wives. And not always in that order!”

This time, Hew had a rather more grand thought. And after a year in planning: “It’s on like Genghis Khan,” Hew says with a smile.

“We’d like to thank everyone who’s already helped us with the car and the logistics and the donations, which includes local businesses such as Horton and Garton, Fast Signs, Collins Motors, Dawes Paints, TNE Electrical, FOS Electrical and many others,” he added.

If you’d like to wish Hew and his merry crew well on their journey, you’re invited to their farewell party at the Princess Victoria pub in Uxbridge Road on Friday (July 19) from 6pm.

Or if you’d like to donate to their chosen charities or just check out where they’ve broken down along the way, visit: www.mongolmongrels.co.uk for more details.