BEARS, wild dogs and minefields are just some of the dangers Winchester explorer John Pilkington could face on his latest adventure.

The 63-year-old globe trotter left last week for a solo trip across the heart of war-torn Balkans.

Travelling by foot, bus and hitch-hiking, the former council planner will trek across mountain ranges and meet people living in remote villages.

The solo trip will take him 2,500 miles from the seaport of Trieste in north-east Italy to Istanbul, the biggest city in Turkey.

He will pass through 12 countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria.

Highlights include a two-week hike across the mountain peaks of the cross-border Balkans Trail.

John said: “The Balkans have always fascinated me. I went there briefly in the 1970s, since then they’ve abandoned communism and endured terrible conflicts.

“Now seems like a good time to see how people who have suffered so much on all sides are recovering and what, if any, reconciliation there has been.”

He plans to pass through the Balkans Peace Park in the Dinaric Alps to help highlight the project.

Since leaving his job at Hampshire County Council, John has established a reputation as a travel writer and photographer. He has written three books and made radio broadcasts.

He also gives illustrated talks about his travels, raising thousands of pounds for charities at home and abroad.

Asked about dangers on this – his 14th adventure, he said: “In the mountains - bears, wild dogs and minefields. But mines are only a danger along less well-trodden routes.”

John has taken expert advice and will give the frontier between Bosnia and Croatia a miss because of the risk of unexploded mines. He will also avoid talking about politics to strangers.

He packed his tent, map and eponymous Pilkington hat before living his terraced house in St Cross.

As previously reported, a wide-brimmed travel hat has been named after John who “wear-tests” hiking gear for manufacturers, including Rohan.