Lochaber pair cycle length of UK for charity
TWO Lochaber students have raised more than £5,000 in aid of a Highland mental health charity by cycling the length of the UK.
Jamie Begg and Chris Dacre, both 20, and from Glenuig and Acharacle, took up the challenge of cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats in memory of Jamie’s mother, Anne-Mairi Clegg.
Jamie, an architectural student at Edinburgh University, said: ‘The final day was definitely the hardest for us. It was raining, Chris’s bike pedal broke and I even lost my jacket.
‘But what really kept us going was the support that we were shown along the way. We had people wishing us good luck at each place we passed, and the support we received from family and friends was incredible.’
Jamie and Chris received donations along the way, but the majority of their fundraising took place via their JustGiving online site, which currently sits at a total of £5,019.57.
Jamie commented: ‘My mum suffered from mental illness for a number of years and she never did make a recovery. Almost exactly two years ago she took her own life and it had a huge impact on me, the rest of my family, friends of the family and neighbours who’d tried to help her.
‘So, along with the fact that Birchwood Highland covers the Fort William area, that’s our underlying reason for choosing to support the hugely important work that they do.’