Cheltenham lawyers complete mammoth Scottish charity cycling challenge

Published by

Nicky Godding

Partners at Cheltenham-based law firm BPE Solicitors have completed another mammoth cycle challenge around the north coast of Scotland, raising more than £7,500 for The Footprints Foundation along the way.

Senior Partner John Workman and Partner Adam Kean along with former colleague Tim Williams cycled 500 miles along the north coast of Scotland, travelling upwards of 70 miles a day. The route took in several munros in Locharron, Gairloch and the mighty Balach Na Ba.

The Footprints Foundation aims to tackle the problems and issues facing disadvantaged and vulnerable young and elderly people, and those people with significant health issues. Its aim is to support through volunteering and hands on help rather than solely providing financial support.

This isn’t the first time that John has undertaken cycle challenges to raise much needed funds for Footprints, but was certainly the toughest one. Not content with being faced with the changeable Scottish weather and taking a couple of transport issues in their stride, John also had an unfortunate accident which saw him leave the road and land headfirst in peat and rock. Thankfully, he wasn’t badly injured and still managed to compete the seven-day challenge.

The Footprints Foundation supports the Khaya Centre and its network of orphanages near Johannesburg, providing day care, education, food and medical help to young children – many of whom have lost their parents to AIDS or have been abandoned.

BPE has long supported Footprints, having sent a team of staff to South Africa to build an orphanage in 2011. Indeed, BPE is currently mentoring a student who has been supported by Footprints with her university legal studies.

John Workman, Senior Partner at BPE said, “I have undertaken seven challenges since 2013, taking on the Alps, the Way of Saint James, and cycling from Budapest to Luxembourg but Project Midge was definitely the toughest yet. The support I’ve received from friends, colleagues and Bob Holt for all of these challenges has been fantastic. I’m excited to visit Johannesburg in October (pandemic restrictions permitting) to contribute to the projects that are in the pipeline”.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.