It has been less than a year since Laurence Brophy took on his record-breaking, Lands’ End to John o’ Groats, challenge. We say record-breaking because as far as we know, when Laurence reached John o’ Groats on his much-loved bicycle, he became the first 88-year-old to complete the 1,000-mile journey.

Not only did Laurence take on and complete his impressive challenge, in a further attempt to raise awareness around the harsh reality of homelessness, he also slept rough along the way, dosing down in farmer’s barns and inside bus shelters.

This year however, Laurence is quite literally aiming higher than he has ever dared before.

On Monday 21^st June, Laurence will set off from his home in Pencoed and head to Chepstow in preparation for the first leg of his journey, cycling from Chepstow to Lands’ End. From there, this is Laurence’s mighty plan…

• Cycle from Lands’ End to Snowdon,
• Climb Snowdon, return to base,
• Cycle from Snowdon to the Lake District,
• Climb Scarfell Pike, return to base,
• Cycle from Scarfell Pike to Carlisle,
• Catch the ferry to Isle of Arron and cycle part of the island,
• Ferry back to mainland Scotland,
• Cycle to Ben Nevis,
• Climb Ben Nevis, return to base,
• Cycle from Ben Nevis to John o’ Groats.

In addition, the 89-year-old former Green Party candidate and volunteer litter picker hopes to complete his challenge in just four weeks. In Laurence’s own words, “it’ll be my holiday this year.”  

When asked how he thought up this seemingly insurmountable challenge, Laurence told us,

“I got caught up in a 5-hour traffic jam during last year’s fundraising challenge and chatted with a young man from Penarth who was on course to complete the Three Peaks Challenge. He only had Ben Nevis to go, but he wouldn’t manage it within the 24-hour time limit.

“I felt for him having success snatched away from him due to something outside of his control, but it got me thinking about the record times that were posted on the Three Peaks Challenge website and wondered whether I could join those record times. An interesting and different challenge for me either way, so what’s not to like?”

This is an extraordinary challenge for anyone to take on and we wish Laurence the safety and the very best of luck. We will be keeping track of Laurence’s journey every step of the way.