A BUDDING dancer is putting her best foot forward when she embarks on a 550-mile pilgrimage to "have time to think".

Jasmine Greenwood, 19, of Pibsbury, near Langport, is taking her dad, Kevin, along too when she treks to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, next month - a journey made by thousands of people every year.

They are flying to Toulouse before catching the train to St Jean Tied-de-Pied in France before crossing the Pyrenees on foot into Spain on May 9 at the start of the month-long adventure, when they will stay in hostels along the route.

"It'll be a huge mental challenge as well as the physical effort," said Jasmine, a former student at SPACE, in Monkton Heathfield, and Huish Episcopi Academy.

"I've just finished a six-month course at the Oxford School of Dance and wanted to have a break from every day life, to get away and have time to think.

"I'd been planning to do it by myself, but dad said he'd been looking into doing a pilgrimage as well.

"Talking to people I know who have done it, they say you have to be pretty fit - I'm quite active anyway and have done the Nijmegen March, which was quite a challenge.

"I'm really looking forward to it and it's going to be an experience I'll never forget.

Jasmine is raising sponsorship for Taunton Association for the Homeless as it "really makes a difference to people's lives".

She said: "I specifically haven't chosen a larger charity as I feel that supporting the local community is equally important and doing something within one's reach is important.

"Also, choosing a smaller charity means I will really be able to witness how my donation helps."

Anyone who wants to sponsor Jasmine to help Taunton Association for the Homeless can do so via https://www.justgiving.com/CaminoSantiago