A HEREFORDSHIRE-born woman has just arrived back on land after a 14-month voyage.

Pat Richardson, originally from Leominster, spent 14 months sailing 12,000 miles with her husband Chris.

The trip saw Mr and Mrs Richardson sail down to the Canary Islands, across to the Caribbean, up to the Bahamas, across to Bermuda and on to the Azores before arriving back in the UK.

They encountered countless problems along the way, including sharks and whales, but that did not stop them.

Pat, aged 60, and Chris, 63, who sailed in a 36ft Swedish yacht called Pelagia, had 30 years of sailing experience behind them.

Pat, who went to Leominster Secondary School and studied A-levels at Leominster Grammar School before starting a teaching course in Middlesbrough, said that the most frightening part of the journey was encountering tropical storms in the Bahamas.

“It was a stressful experience,” said Pat, who now lives in Whitby, North Yorkshire.

“You have to call on your experience, so it goes to show that there is a lot of luck involved in sailing.”

Mr and Mrs Richardson sailed around Britain in 2001.

Mrs Richardson, whose mother Ellen Wildman still lives in Leominster, now plans to have a rest with Chris after their journey.