John O'Groats to Land's End on quad bikes
The idea to do a fundraising quad bike ride from John O'Groats to Land's End came to me whilst I was recovering from treatment for cancer in 2009/10. The ride would be in memory of our son Rob who lost his own 3 year battle with cancer (Wilms' tumour) in 2008, aged 13.
Once the idea was there my main aim was to regain my strength, and to get back to as close to full fitness as was possible, in order to be able to complete the trip.
Two friends were keen to join me on the challenge and we began to plan our route. As we would be using quad bikes we decided to take the most scenic route rather than the quickest, which added about 450 miles to the journey. On 14th May 2011 Steve Bartlett, Nick Baker and I set off on quad bikes kindly loaned by Polaris UK. Our route was roughly as follows:-
From a rainy John O'Groats down through the Scottish Highlands via Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal to the west coast of Scotland. An overnight stop at Nick's sister's house at Ardfern and then onto the ferry to the Isle Of Arran. Back across to Ayrshire, through Dumfrieshire, the Lake District, North Yorkshire Moors, the Peak District and Derbyshire Dales, sleeping overnight in a motorhome kindly driven by friends Graham and David. We made a quick visit to the Polaris UK HQ in Coleshill and then made our way to the NFU HQ in Stratford on Avon who kindly put us up for a night. The following day, suitably refreshed we headed for the Cotswolds and ended up in Wiltshire where we were able to spend one night at home, and also to enjoy a very welcome meal at our favourite chinese restaurant . After that we headed for the Dorset coast, crossed Dartmoor and finally made our way down through Cornwall to arrive at a rainy Land's End on 23rd May. In all a total of approximately 1,330 miles.
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From left to right
Jerry Bailey, Nick Baker and Steve Bartlett
Despite the uninspiring rain at John O'Groats the weather improved over the course of the trip and we were able to enjoy some wonderful scenery and views, and take in some places of interest such as Hadrian's Wall at Bampton, and Gold Hill in Shaftesbury.
We met many people during the course of the trip and all were very supportive and generous with their money. We even had people approaching us with donations at petrol stations whilst we refuelled.
The trip was very enjoyable , going without a single hitch, and when we arrived at Land's End on 23rd May I would have been happy to turn around and do it all over again. Maybe one day!
Steve, Nick and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their tremendous support and generosity which has enabled us to raise over £16,700 including gift aid, which we have split between CCLG, CLIC Sargent and Piam Brown Ward in Southampton Hospital where Rob received most of his treatment. All very worthwhile causes.
Thank you.
Jeremy Bailey
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