In April 2027 I'm cycling the John Muir Way, coast to coast across Scotland. Helensburgh on the Clyde to Dunbar on the North Sea, 134 miles, four days, on my own with everything I need strapped to the bike.

I'm doing it for Martin House Children's Hospice, in memory of my nephew George.

George was seventeen when he took his own life in November 2024. He was my sister's eldest and we were close. Long bike rides, hiking up mountains, video games late into the night with him talking me through what I was doing wrong. For a while we ran a small eBay empire out of his bedroom, shifting his old Nerf guns and Lego sets. He kept the proceeds and spent them on what he called his wardrobe flex.

When we lost him, Martin House gave my sister a chapel of rest so she could be with George and the rest of us could say goodbye properly. They helped his mum, his sister and his grandma make keepsakes from his fingerprints and handprints. Those still sit on the mantelpieces at my mum's house and my sister's.

I've never met people as capable of that kind of care. Not sympathy, which is easy. The practical, unflustered sort that lets a family fall apart in a safe room and then put itself back together.

Martin House normally looks after children with life-shortening conditions and their families across West, North and East Yorkshire. What they did for us sat outside all of that. They did it anyway.

Some of you gave generously when George's sister and his friends raised money for Andy's Man Club. I know what that took and I'm not asking anyone to do it twice. If you've already given, please don't feel any obligation here. Sharing this would help me just as much.

Every penny goes to Martin House. Gift Aid adds 25% at no cost to you if you're a UK taxpayer.

The date depends on the weather so it might move within spring 2027. I'll update this page as I go, and there's a longer piece about George and the route on my website.

For George x