A Long Journey Home

Monday May 27 2024

Two cyclists from Ballachulish, in the Highlands, are setting off on the journey of a lifetime tomorrow, cycling from Land's End to John o'Groats to raise money for international development organisation Christian Aid.

Bill Strachan, aged, 74 and Jon Ure, 75, are both retired and keen sportsmen, who have previously completed various long-distance events including walking across Scotland and Europe.

Bill said: “We cycle nearly every day, for leisure, and we’ve raised money for Christian Aid before - now we’re combining the two. We’re both members of our local church, South Lochaber Church, and cycle there on Sundays. We’ve done lots of fundraising so we thought we’d choose Christian Aid as our charity this year.

“We think it’ll be between 800 and 1,000 miles although I have actually walked it before, in 2005, and I did 1,300 miles.”

The pair set off from Land’s End tomorrow (Tuesday, May 28) and are hoping to cover 30-40 miles a day, reaching their goal in four or five weeks.

Bill added. “Along the way we’re going to be stopping at as many cathedrals as we can, starting with Truro and then Wells. We’re hoping to meet a few supporters and perhaps grab a cup of tea!”

Head of Christian Aid Scotland Val Brown said: “What a brilliant fundraising challenge – we’re so grateful that Bill and John have chosen to fundraise for Christian Aid.  We wish them all the best on their epic journey. The money raised will go towards Christian Aid’s work around the world tackling extreme poverty - whether that’s building the resilience of communities impacted by climate change in Ethiopia or running digital business skills training for young women in Bangladesh. We work with local partners and communities to fight injustice, respond to humanitarian emergencies and campaign for change.”

Bill and Jon are raising money for Christian Aid through their Justgiving page, you can sponsor them here.

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