Closing the Circle - Mike’s Bob Graham Round
On the 7th and 8th of June 2024, I am going to attempt to complete the Bob Graham Round, an approximately 65 mile circuit of the Lake District, taking in 42 summits and around 27,000 feet of both up and down. I aim to complete “the Bob” in under 24 hours, therefore qualifying for membership of the legendary Bob Graham Round Club!
Achieving this enormous challenge will “close the circle” on half a century of visiting the Lake District and falling in love with the mountains and all the activities we can do in them.
While attempting “the Bob”, I didn’t want to pass up the chance to raise money for good causes, so thought long and hard about which ones mean the most to me.
The George Heath Foundation is a wonderful small, local charity based in Cheshire. The Foundation was formed by George’s family to support causes close to their hearts in memory of George. I knew George for 15 of his 20 years, spending much time with him on camping holidays, climbing the mountains of Snowdonia or on the side of football pitches. We will all miss George forever, but the work of the Foundation means his good influence lives on, helping dozens of local good causes with focussed donations towards everything from a nursery “mud kitchen”, to support for the homeless, renovating a cottage hospital day room, adapted bikes, help for a teenage mental health scheme, and so many, many more.
http://www.thegeorgeheathfoundation.org.uk
Everyone has heard of the Guide Dogs for the Blind. But did you know it costs £50,000 to train a guide dog? And that after Covid, there’s a massive “back log” of people waiting for these life-changing companions? With Alison’s long-standing involvement in supporting children and adults with visual impairment, and having seen first hand the amazing difference the Guide Dogs for the Blind can make to people’s lives, I am delighted to be raising much-needed funds for this other brilliant charity.
Event Update
Proving that with the help of an incredible team of friends and a loving and supportive family, any of us can achieve the seemingly impossible, last night I jogged back in to Keswick, 22h 32m after leaving there the previous evening at 8pm.
In between time, I travelled 66 miles and visited the 42 summits of the Bob Graham Round.
The impossible became possible only because
Dave Kimpton Mark Staker Richard Barratt Geraint Powell Jason Large Neil Yeoman Dave Appleton Alison Tyrie Owen Tyrie Karen Skeel Tash Coveney David Smeatham Lucy Trent Ian Mackay Jack Tyrie
supported me every step of the way.
They made the whole thing a joy, inspiring me to keep going from start to finish. I had a dream of how “the Bob” would look and feel, and you guys brought it perfectly to life.
THANK YOU !!!!
And along the way, we’ve raised the princely sum of £2,000 for our good causes The George Heath Foundation and Guide Dogs UK.
Not a bad effort in 24 hours.
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