It was an epic and highly unusual 5,000-mile journey through Europe – all in the name of art.

https://infogr.am/sculpture-1121756

Sculptor Mark Reed has completed a trip from his home in Ashill to Athens and back – to deliver a sculpture to a Greek museum.

Mr Reed, 44, took his magnificent one-tonne, £20,000, tree sculpture all the way to Athens in a 1989 VW camper van.

The sculpture measured 3.5m tall and 3m wide and was bolted to a trailer behind it.

Mr Reed and his apprentice, Liam Eagling, 19, set off in early December and made it home for Christmas.

The pair took a ferry from Dover to Dunkirk, before crossing France and through Italy to Brindisi.

From there, they took another ferry to Patras, in Greece, then drove on to Athens.

Mr Reed, who has been a full-time sculptor for 25 years and once made a door for Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, said there were a few challenges to overcome.

He said: 'We had problems filling up with fuel in France.

'They don't sell petrol in the lorry pumps and the height restriction is 3.2m for normal petrol pumps – we were 4m with the tree.'

He added: 'We made it to Greece with the gearbox leaking and out of euros.

'The camper van had run relatively smoothly.

'It didn't sputter but the brakes made loud noises as they were almost on fire coming down the mountain in Greece.'

Nine leaves also fell off the tree along the way.

The sculpture is being displayed at The Kanellopoulos Museum, which commissioned Mr Reed to make the sculpture after he worked for them previously.

Are you taking part in an ambitious art project? Email adam.lazzari@archant.co.uk