Adrian Pomfrett a retired Head Teacher from Farnborough kindly agreed to support LMF when he took on the mammoth challenge of cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats. He was supported and accompanied by his nephew and they motivated each other along the route. Adrian raised an incredible  £816.25 and to show our appreciation we met up with him for a spot of lunch and to hear all about it.

There are lots of charitable people who help causes such as ourselves and we like to recognise the effort they have made to organise, plan and execute what they achieve.  People such as Adrian really step outside the box and make a difference.  After hearing all about his journey we asked him to share his thoughts on the challenge and how it felt to complete the event knowing the money would benefit his community.

Here is Adrian’s story…

I have spent all my working life as a teacher which left little time for long expeditions. In my first year of retirement I have set myself targets to put this right and have been trekking in Nepal and done this cycle ride. They have both been wonderful experiences. As the cycle trip is regularly done for charity, it gave a second motivation. I had not heard of LMF but was introduced by a member of the family and it seemed a good cause where the money went to support both local and international projects.

The trip itself took 17 days which was what I thought I could cope with when I planned it but, having trained properly, I could have done it in less time.

I thought the hardest part would be the hills, particularly in Devon and the Lakes. In fact these were easy and it was the northerly gales that assailed me in Scotland that were the most difficult part of the trip. Falling ill as I entered Scotland also didn’t help but I just kept going.    

The best part of the trip was everything apart from the wind. Britain is beautiful and being out in the fresh air is a wonderful feeling. There were several days when the weather was fine, the wind gentle and it was just blissful. If I had to pick one thing out it would be the bridges. Going over the Avonmouth and Forth Road Bridge, you realise how awesome the engineering has been and yet the view over the rivers and countryside show you how little we have really affected the countryside.

 I hope this is not the end of my challenges. I want to trek in New Zealand and climb Chimborazo in the Andes as it is the furthest point from the centre of the earth. After that, who knows, there will always be something.

If anyone else wants to do this ride my advice would be to train properly. If you are fit, it is enjoyable, if not I think it would sap your spirit.

To sum it all up, it was tough, exhilarating and well worthwhile.

Since Adrian’s trip we have met up a couple of times to discuss the charities we support and Parity which is on Adrian’s doorstep was of particular interest to him and his wife Wendy. We then set up a meeting for them to visit the charity to see where and how donations are spent and what  an amazing job Parity do and they enjoyed it so much Adrian has offered to volunteer as a driver. This has been truly rewarding for LMF as it shows how we can help our charities, thank our supporters and match people together to help each other.

Do you have a challenge or goal on your list of things to do that could raise money along the way? If so please talk to us so we can help you tick something off your list!

We appreciate support and promote and encourage people to do something they enjoy whilst helping others, it can be fun, rewarding and memorable.