St Ann's Hospice is a charity which cares for thousands of local people with cancer and non-cancer life-limiting illnesses every year. They cared for Meg's Nanna Gertrude in 2015 giving her blood transfusions and meals / moral support to help manage bowel and kidney cancer and Alzheimer's. They offered Nanna and family a safe place to talk and therapies such as massage. They also nursed Meg's honorary Grandma Annie in her final days offering end of life care in 2007. Annie passed away peacefully and with dignity there in June 2007. We want to thank them for all their love and support caring for our 2 amazing grandparents 💜

In 2026 we are doing Land's End to John O'Groats in 14 days on on tandem from 18th July to 2nd August 2026 to raise funds for St Ann's Hospice in memory of these two amazing ladies.

Our first night 'arrival day' Saturday is spent in Penzance a lovely Cornish town around 20 minutes from Lands End. We then transfer to Land's End at around 8am on the Sunday morning for the obligatory signpost picture.

Day 1 (Sunday 19th July): Land's End to St Austell

60 miles | 97km | 5309 ft | 1646 m

Our journey begins at the famous signpost on the southwestern most tip of England, Land's End. Where its dramatic coastline forms the backdrop for the obligatory photos. Then on winding Cornish roads we head back towards Penzance, cycling along the seafront as we pass St Michael's mount.

The first day is perhaps one of the toughest, the hills in Cornwall are not particularly high, but they are steep and there are a lot of them!! After an amazing lunch at we catch the King Harry ferry and venture further inland passing through picture perfect villages before ending the day the in St Austell.

Day 2: St Austell to Bovey Tracey

77 miles | 124km | 5773 ft | 1759m

Another tough day starts with a little more 'Cornish cycling', short and steep ascents followed by quick descents. We pass through the lovely seaside towns of Looe and Seaton to our lunch stop right on the harbour in Plymouth. We continue into Devon via the Plym Valley which is a fantastic 8 miles traffic free trail through woods, before a steady climb up onto Dartmoor National Park. On a clear day this is a truly spectacular section, with some fantastic cycling across open moorland, although it can get very bleak if the weather is bad! The reward is an exhilarating downhill section before reaching the pretty town of Bovey Tracey.

Day 3: Bovey Tracey to Wookey Hole

87 miles | 140km | 4226ft | 1287m

Todays adventure begins with some hilly cycling as we negotiate the idyllic back roads towards Exeter. Once through the city it's quiet country lanes and the english countryside at its best. After lunch, we will be wending our way across the Somerset Levels to bring us via quirky Glastonbury to the historic cathedral city of Wells. Our overnight stop of Wookey Hole is just a couple of miles further.

Day 4: Wookey Hole to Hereford

78 miles | 126km | 4868ft | 1509m

Today you have an optional detour of 8 miles to experience the incredible Cheddar Gorge. Even if not, there is still a sharp ascent out of Wookey Hole followed by some fine cycling across the plateau of the Mendip Hills, before dropping down to Chew Valley Lake. We will cycle over the iconic Clifton suspension bridge before heading through Bristol and over the Severn Bridge into Wales. The afternoon is spent cycling along the Wye Valley passing Tintern Abbey, a truly memorable days cycling before stopping near Hereford.

Day 5: Hereford to Shrewsbury

70 miles | 113km | 3235ft | 1003m

Perhaps the easiest day. But the scenery is stunning with the Black Mountains brooding away in the distance. Cycling on undulating country lanes, passing fields and picture postcard villages onwards through the Welsh Marches, we eventually stop for the night in medieval Shrewsbury.

Day 6: Shrewsbury to Leigh

71 miles | 114km | 1888ft | 585m

A scenic, undulating road takes us from the historic white and black timbered buildings of Shrewsbury north on flat and quiet roads along the Cheshire plains. Another relatively easy day, we avoid most of the busy roads by cycling through the Delamere Forest. There is some tricky navigation towards the end, however the reward in Leigh an optional local swimming pool to sooth those aching limbs.

Day 7: Leigh to Carnforth

70 miles | 113km | 4656ft | 1419m

Leaving Leigh we will be weaving through the Manchester / Liverpool conurbation, but being early on a Saturday we miss the heavy traffic. The cycling is flat but with a number of road junctions, roundabouts and town centres. As we head up on to the Moors close to Tockholes the countryside beckons again. The terrain becomes hilly as we cycle up through the glorious Forest of Bowland and lunch in the pretty village of Dunsop Bridge. From here you steadily climb 'The Cross of Greet' giving way to stunning views across the Lakes and Yorkshire Dales, then it is downhill on quiet back roads into Carnforth.

Day 8 : Kendal to Gretna Green

72 miles | 116km | 4933ft | 1529m

An easy start as we hug the waters edge through beautiful lakeland towns such as Windermere, Ambleside and reach a brew stop in Grasmere. After a short climb we descend to take an amazing traffic free route around Thirlmere Lake. Crossing the busy A591 onto quieter back roads we reach Castlerigg stone circle and yet more stunning views as we descend into the town of Keswick for lunch. From here we leave the lakes via Uldale and the Caldbeck hills. Once we reach the outskirts of Carlisle it is then relatively flat as we cross the border into Scotland (don't forget t stop for a picture) to stay in the famous Gretna Green village.

Day 9: Gretna Green to Larkhall

76 miles | 122km | 3271ft | 1014m

Terrain in the Scottish Lowlands is relatively flat making for easy cycling to start as we weave our way along lush green river valleys north towards the outskirts of Glasgow. Some hilly cycling in the afternoon away from our lunch stop in Moffat tests the legs before descending again towards Larkhall.

Day 10: Larkhall to Tyndrum

79 miles | 127km | 3382ft | 1048m

At Hamilton southwest of Glasgow we join the Clyde Corridor cycle route, and as we traverse the city we will be enjoying a traffic free ride alongside the River Clyde, with the Trossachs ahead of us, we will be heading for the banks of Loch Lomond.

Cycling the full length of this majestic span of water, we end the day in Tyndrum on the West Highland Way, surrounded by stunning mountain peaks.

Day 11: Tyndrum to Fort Augustus

82 miles | 132km | 4283ft | 1328m

As the long steady, ascents open up we will have glorious views of the Grampian Mountains. Travelling north the views become even more dramatic, a stiff climb up onto Rannoch Moor and into the spectacular and historic 'Pass of Glencoe'.

The towering Three Sisters mark the last miles before Glencoe Village. From here we ride the eastern shores of Loch Linnhe to Fort William. After visiting the Commando Memorial, quiet tow paths along the Caledonian Canal lead us to the quaint Fort Augustus which lies on the banks of Loch Ness.

Day 12: Fort Augustus to Evanton

53 miles | 85km | 3048ft | 929m

A steep and lengthy climb onto General Wades Military Road is rewarded with breathtaking views.

We then weave alongside the famous Loch Ness to the Capital of the Highlands - Inverness. A stunning ride away from Inverness takes you over the Kessock Bridge and alongside the Beauly Firth to the Muir of Ord before resting overnight in Evanton.

Day 13: Evanton to Bettyhill

76 miles | 126km | 3454ft | 1052m

Just out of Evanton brings another ascent onto what the locals call the 'Struie'. As we reach the top, we will be amply rewarded with impressive views of the Dornoch Firth and away in the distance Loch Shin. Descending down to Bonnar Bridge its then a steady climb via Lairg to The Crask Inn, arguably the quirkiest and friendliest of pubs in the UK. Some of the finest cycling of the trip begins with some 'free miles' descending from the Crask Inn with the dazzling backdrop provided by Loch Naver and Ben Klibreck. A truly unforgettable day ends as we sight the Atlantic Ocean at Bettyhill.

Day 14: Bettyhill to John O'Groats

50 miles | 81km | 2448ft | 759m

The final morning will be spent making progress along the stunning but hilly northern coastline of Scotland. As we approach our journeys end the terrain flattens out and we are rewarded with an easy ride to the finish line at John O'Groats.

When we hit the finish line we will have gone over 900 miles and Meg will cheer for Nanna at the end.

Departure Day: Sunday and the drive home.

This will be the hardest, toughest thing we have ever done. It's also something we always thought was logistically impossible until we found one way van hire and Pedal Britain. Its also a bucket list experience and one that will lead us to train harder than ever, so hard that we will use rides we have previously done as events as training (eeekkkkkkk)

• Tour de Manc - May 2026 Mad Manc route 125 miles / approx 8000ft elevation across 10 Boroughs of Manchester

* * Coast to Coast Bike ride. On 6th June 2026 we are riding from Seascale in Cumbria to Whitby.

Just to highlight how tough the Coast to Coast in a day event is and why .... 150 miles & add to that 4500 meters of hills - almost 3 miles of height to climb, or 4 Snowdonia Mountains.

*** Manchester to Blackpool bike ride

We are asking all our family & friends to dig deep for our Bucket List / hardest & greatest challenge yet. Please donate in memory of these two amazing ladies, Nanna Gertrude and Annie.

Your amazing support enables St Ann’s Hospice to provide care to people and their families living with a life-limiting illness in the Greater Manchester community. We provide a range of free services to patients, carers and their loved ones from three sites as well supporting patients in their own homes. Join Team St. Ann’s today to ensure we’re always there – wherever and whenever we’re needed.