An epic road trip to raise money for the homeless
Route 166, is a unique sponsored road trip, planned for August 2022 which will st
art at John O’Groats and finish at Land’s End.
To give it a Belvoir twist, they will also be incorporating all of Belvoir’s 166 offices,
throughout the UK, covering a distance of over 3,500 miles over a period of 4 weeks!
The Route
This Brand Awareness / Charity Challenge will involve Ian Maclean and Andy Soloman travelling from John O’Groats to Land’s End via every Belvoir office in mainland UK, the offices of our generous key sponsors, (and a few other ‘landmark’ stop-off points!)
August 1st (day 1 & 2): The team will cover over 400 miles via the coastal roads of the Scottish Highlands, stopping at 8 offices between John O’Groats and Falkirk.
August 3rd (day 3): Concludes the Scottish leg of the route, visiting Glasgow and Paisley, and sees the start of the mammoth route through England, crossing the most northern part of England from Cumbria to Northumberland via Carlisle.
August 4th: The next four days will cover over 400 miles and 30 offices as Ian and Andy will twist and turn their way across the North East, into North Yorkshire and across the Pennines into Lancashire, through Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire before a quick visit into North Wales before heading back into Cheshire to finish this leg in Macclesfield.
August 9th (days 9 to 13): Takes the route over 900 miles through South Yorkshire, Humberside, and into the Midlands via 36 offices including Grantham, the home of Belvoir! After winding their way through the remainder of the Midlands, via Norfolk and another 14 offices, the route then moves into Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire before heading out towards Ipswich and Essex, covering another 700 miles and 34 offices during days 15 to 19.
August 22nd: Next stop, London! The route runs from East to North, to West before heading south towards the coast.
August 23rd (day 23 to 25): Route 166 snakes along the South Coast before going north into Surrey, into Reading, through Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Hereford, visiting 17 offices before heading into South Wales, stopping for photos at beauty spots on the route.
August 26th (day 26): Sees the departure from Wales, and the start of the home stretch, visiting the final 8 offices over the last 400 miles, which will take Ian and Andy from Cardiff back down to the South Coast to Bournemouth, through Devon and into Cornwall reaching the endpoint of Land’s End on Day 27. (August 27th)
This route covers over 3500 miles, 166 different locations and an estimated ride time of close to 100 hours throughout the month of August.
Meet Our Riders - Ian Maclean - Franchise Director at Belvoir
Ian has worked for Belvoir for 15 years and is celebrating his 60th birthday on 28th August 2022, and thought what better way to celebrate than by completing one of his ‘bucket list’ items whilst raising money for an amazing charity.
Ian has chosen CRISIS as his charity to ride for. CRISIS support people out of homelessness for good, through education, training and support with housing, employment and health. They offer one to one support, advice and courses for homeless people in 12 areas across England, Scotland and Wales.
Andy Soloman - Yomdel Ambassador
Andy jumped at the chance to join this challenge after hearing Ian talking about his wild idea about travelling the UK on a motorbike to raise money for charity. Andy was the founder of Yomdel, the UK’s leading live chat provider, and he also spent many years as a photographer and foreign correspondent.
Having travelled extensively, Andy has chosen to support Just a Drop, an amazing charity that believes everyone, everywhere, should have access to clean water as a basic right and who wants to see a world where everyone has clean water and adequate sanitation. A child somewhere dies every two minutes from a lack of access to clean water and Just a Drop support marginalised people across the world through community-led development, rather than aid.
Better Together
An average daily ride of over 150 miles, supported by an electric support vehicle.
Accommodation: Eco-friendly hotels reduce their environmental impact by employing sustainable best practices, (including reducing energy and water consumption, aiming for zero waste generation, and using environmentally friendly products). Our riders & their support team will be overnighting in a selection of these eco-friendly hotels, plus hostels, campsites and B&B’s (as well as sofa surfing with friends and family as they make their way across the UK!)
