Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity (BWHC) sits at the heart of one of the busiest NHS Trusts in the country: University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. As the official charity for all ten hospitals in the Trust, the charity does great things with multi-million pound investments back into the hospitals. Working alongside NHS staff, the charity enhances the patient experience with better environments, funds the latest technology, supports innovative treatments and helps fund internationally important medical research.

The Challenge

The Great Weston Ride is a 57-mile challenge bike ride from Bristol to Weston-super-Mare that follows a spectacular route through the Mendips and across the Somerset Levels.

It's an award-winning event that's received major recognition for its positive and valuable contribution to people's health and wellbeing.

Last year, in the company of 800 riders in total, we saw 50 BWHC riders over the Great Weston Ride finish line, raising over £25,000 to make a real difference to the health and happiness of our community.

This year, as part of our 50th year birthday celebrations, we want to go even further and double our riders and we need you, our full-hearted folks, to push your limits and cycle the distance between our hospitals, for our hospitals. Will you join us?

The Cause

By taking on the Great Weston Ride and fundraising for Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity, you’ll be helping the 10 hospitals that we support in the Bristol and Weston area. Every year, over 13,000 NHS staff provide care to over one million patients in our hospitals. Chances are you, or someone you love, has been treated at one of our hospitals.

The Difference You’ll Make

Your support will help us go above and beyond for patients, their families, and our amazing NHS staff. Here are just a few examples of the amazing projects we’ve been able to fund in these hospitals thanks to fundraisers taking on events like the Great Weston Ride:

• A new children’s research centre at the heart of Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, the South West’s leading specialist hospital for children. This ground-breaking facility has transformed treatments and means staff can take on 30% more research projects every year.

• You might have seen the Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity buses around the centre of Bristol and now travelling from Bristol to Weston and back. These are the free hospital shuttle buses, supported by your fundraising. These buses mean staff and patients have a free and easy way to get to the hospitals.

• Maintenance of the Rainbow Garden at Weston General Hospital. This allows our hardworking NHS staff and poorly patients a quiet area to rest away from the ward.