Our Rust Bucket Rally Story

This year, we’re taking on a challenge that’s equal parts adventure, chaos, and heart: the Rust Bucket Rally. In just five days, we’ll be driving around 2,500 miles across Scandinavia—through mountains, fjords, wild weather, and the open road—behind the wheel of cars worth no more than £1,000. Yes… you read that right. A thousand-pound car, 5 days, and roughly 100 other teams all doing the exact same thing. What could possibly go wrong?

We are Clive, Paul, Brian, and Simon, taking on this challenge on behalf of Chep Birmingham. Together, we’ll be navigating our rust-bucket machines through Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, hopefully with more laughs than breakdowns.

But for us, it’s not just about the journey. It’s about why we’re doing it.

We’re proud to be raising money for Petals, a charity that provides specialist counselling to parents who have experienced the unimaginable: the loss of a baby or child. Their support helps families find hope and healing when it feels like the world has stopped—when the pain is so deep it’s hard to breathe. Petals offers a lifeline at a time when many feel completely alone.

The Rust Bucket Rally has a track record of turning madness into meaningful change. Over the years, it has already raised more than £600,000 for 12 different charities. This year, it’s our turn to add to that legacy—and every mile, breakdown, laugh, and roadside repair will be driven with Petals in our hearts.

We’re asking you to support us on this journey. Every donation, no matter the size, makes a real difference. It helps fund counselling sessions for grieving parents, ensuring they don’t have to face their darkest days without help.

Our goal isn’t just to reach the finish line. It’s to help more families find light after loss.

Thank you for being part of this adventure and for supporting something that truly matters.

We are Petals, the baby loss counselling charity. The specialist counselling service that we provide is life-changing for parents who have suffered the devastating loss of a pregnancy or death of a baby. We know that these tragic experiences not only result in grief but also in trauma. Our wonderful counsellors are there to help our clients navigate their grief and trauma and to guide them to a place of hope.

Supporting this challenge you will be helping us to deliver more vital counselling sessions to bereaved parents when they need us.