Two friends have raised more than £10,000 to be split between Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) and Piam Brown Ward at Southampton General Hospital.
Jerry Bailey and Steve Bartlett recently completed a 2,000-mile cross-country buggy ride in memory of Jerry’s son, Rob, who passed away from cancer in 2008.
Jerry and Steve, Rob’s Godfather, previously tackled a similar fundraiser a decade ago with a quad bike ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End and were looking to get back on the road with a similarly tough and unique challenge.
They struck upon ‘Round Britain for Rob’, which would see them travel to all four corners of the country at Land’s End, Ardnamurchan Point, John O’Groats and Ness Point.
Beginning on May 3, the ride was initially planned to take 10 days, but the pair were stopped in their tracks by a serious mechanical fault, causing them to pause their journey halfway through.
Determined to finish, they re-grouped and set off again – this time with more support in the form of back-up crew Mike Tizard and Richard Bartlett, Steve’s brother - to end their odyssey on June 24.
Their route took in what Jerry described as the “best bits of the best bits of Britain”, including areas of the Lake District, the Yorkshire and Derbyshire Dales, the Cairngorms and the Scottish Highlands.
He said they “thoroughly enjoyed” themselves despite some of the obstacles they faced, and that the achievement felt all the greater for having overcome them.
He said:
“We were really, really pleased and it was a really good effort on everybody’s part that we managed to do it in the end.
“It was pretty tough going, and coping with various mechanical issues along the way, especially the parts when we were unsupported, was a bit tricky.
“We had a couple of days where we covered over 300 miles and that’s a long, hard day, but we were very lucky, the weather was kind to us, it wasn’t too hot and wasn’t too wet.
“But it was great fun, we saw some wonderful scenery and met some really, really kind and generous people along the way.
“There wasn’t a second that we didn’t enjoy - we spent most of the time laughing, even when we broke down!
“We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company and spending time together.”
Throughout their travels, the two were met with a wealth of kind and generous gestures and scores of well wishes, something that Jerry said was a real highlight of their tour.
He explained: “There was amazing help along the way, some of the mechanics we met in particular.
“There was a company called Derbyshire Quads that got us out of our first real mechanical failure and helped us out enormously, and there were little garages that helped us out along the route with more minor things, and hoteliers and restauranteurs that went the extra mile.
“The best thing about this trip was the generosity and kindness we experienced from other people, whether from those who were helping or donating.
“One day we popped into a little garage with a problem with the exhaust pipe on one of the buggies, and the guy there wouldn’t accept any payment and gave us a £50 donation.
“It was very humbling.
“It makes it all worthwhile and doable as well, without that goodwill it would have been very, very difficult to have completed it ourselves.”
Speaking on raising £10,000, he added: “It’s very satisfying and a bit humbling. People have been very, very generous in donating.
“It’s a great amount and hopefully will make a big difference to children’s lives.”
Gill Smitherman, CCLG’s Head of Fundraising, said:
“We want to thank Jerry and Steve for their incredible efforts in completing this challenge and raising such a fantastic sum of money.
“Their trip sounds like quite an adventure and their determination to finish is both impressive and inspiring in equal measure.”