Cricket fan to embark on latest hike across Gloucestershire for Macmillan Cancer Support
4 December 2018
Lifelong cricket fan and fundraiser, Rob Bryan, will be back in his walking boots this December in a bid to raise the last £9,000 needed to fund a new Macmillan Cancer Support nurse for a year. Rob, a partner at BPE Solicitors in Cheltenham, will be hiking the 102 mile (164 km) Cotswold Way over the course of six days (5th - 10th December).
Over the last 18 months Rob, and his friends and colleagues from the South-West law firm BPE Solicitors, have raised nearly £45,000. However, Rob is determined to reach the £54,000 target before the end of 2018 - the amount needed to fund a Macmillan Cancer Support nurse for year.
The 53 year-old is renowned for his fundraising efforts. In July 2017, Rob successfully completed the 297 mile Macmillan Way, walking from Lincolnshire to Dorset in only 22 days. During the course of the walk, he was joined at different points by 165 supporters. Rob also managed to garner the support of eight County Cricket Clubs, including Gloucestershire CCC, and other businesses along the route. Since then, BPE’s fundraising efforts have included cake sales, a charity golf day and static bike challenge.
Rob lost his mum to cancer in October 2014, and having experienced first-hand the dedication and care provided by Macmillan Cancer Support nurses, set out to fund a new nurse for a year.
Rob Bryan says:
“BPE are so close to reaching our target - the £54,000 needed to fund one Macmillan Cancer Support nurse for a year. I’m determined to hit this by the end of 2018. I hope that by taking on the Cotswold Way (come snow or shine in December!) I can really encourage people to dig into their pockets and make a donation so that together we can raise the last £9,000. BPE have raised a fantastic amount of money so far, wouldn’t it be a wonderful start to 2019 to know that we could fund a Macmillan nurse over the course of the year?”
Hannah Fahy, Gloucestershire fundraising manager, Macmillan Cancer Support says:
“On average a Macmillan Nurse supports 168 patients each year as well as many more family members, carers and friends. The support we receive from fundraisers like Rob really does make a difference to people living with cancer in Gloucestershire. Please support Rob’s challenge and help him reach his incredible target and help people living with cancer live life as fully as they can.”
Rob, along with his friend and BPE colleague, John Russell, will set off from the market town of Chipping Camden on Wednesday 5th December and weather permitting, plans to reach the city of Bath, the end of the Cotswold Way, on Monday 10th December. For most of its length, the National Trail follows the Cotswold escarpment providing wonderful views of the surrounding landscape.
The trail runs through or near to the following towns: Broadway, Stanway, Winchcombe, Cheltenham, Leckhampton, Cranham, Painswick, Stroud, Dursley, Old Sodbury, Wotton-under-Edge, Chipping Sodbury. It passes numerous places of interest, including the site of the Battle of Lansdowne, the Somerset Monument, the Tyndale Monument, Sudeley Castle, Cleeve Hill, Hailes Abbey, and the Broadway Tower. With the exception of a small stretch around Broadway (in Worcestershire), the entire walk is within Gloucestershire (including South Gloucestershire) and Somerset (including Bath and North East Somerset).
For donations, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/macmillanwaychallenge
Or text BPEW54 £5 (or whatever you can) to 70070.
*Texts std rate. Get bill payer’s permission. Age 16+. Text donations are free for Vodafone customers. Other networks may charge you for your text, so check your operator’s standard rates before texting.
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