A grandfather who has walked from Hereford dressed as Gandalf arrived in London on Tuesday, October 18th, to protest against fracking.

66-year-old Rick Guest began his Tolkien style quest outside Barclays Bank in Hereford in August. At the time, fracking licences had been issued for the Wye Valley AONB and the Forest of Dean.

Rick then travelled by canoe along the River Wye and met Forest of Dean protestors at Symonds Yat for a “Gathering of the Shires” on August 20th, where they were joined by the Lancashire Nanas, a group of women who have become famous for becoming the frontline against fracking in Lancashire.

Carrying his alder staff and a ‘Don’t Frack the Shires’ banner, Rick then cycled across the Forest of Dean to the River Severn, which he crossed by boat, and then followed the Gloucestershire Canal to Cirencester, where he picked up the Thames Path National Trail to Oxford.

Last week, Rick visited the Eagle and Child Pub in Oxford, where JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis would meet.

During his journey, Rick carried a ring with him, which he planned to deliver to what he describes as “Mordor”, and post through the “crack of Mount Doom,” 10 Downing Street.

“This ring is a tractor pin from the shires, ordinary and powerful, like the people of the shires,” said Rick.

“My message to the government is that fracking is dangerous to our water systems and the climate. We don’t need it, we don’t want it, and we will resist it in every way possible.”

Since Rick began his quest, South Western Energy have decided not to take up this round of fracking licences offered for the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley, and the democratic decision by Lancashire councillors not to grant Cuadrilla planning permission was over-ruled by central government.