21 Miles to Safety

Join Bristol Hospitality Network in our mission to raise awareness and vital funds for refugees and destitute asylum seekers. Take on the challenge of swimming, rowing, or paddling the 21-mile journey across the English Channel, or a time or distance related to the No 21 mirroring the small boat crossings that many brave individuals undertake in search of safety.

Why this campaign

We take the short journey between France and Britain for granted. I travel in the safety of a Eurostar train. You might travel by boat with your car. It's a short journey. We travel for business and for pleasure - but never to escape persecution.

For refugees and asylum seekers the journey is very different. It's a matter of life and death - will they reach the safety of the south coast?

The Channel crossing may seem like their only hope, a desperate attempt to escape the nightmares they face.

Here is one story:

“It was psychologically not a logical decision, but I had no other choice. Either way I’ll die; either at sea, in France or by going back to Syria. That’s how I found myself in a boat going to England".

At Bristol Network, we’re on a mission to change the narrative around seeking asylum, raise awareness of the challenges people endure, and support those made destitute by the asylum system.