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Harry Hits Scarborough As He Bikes Around Coast for RNLI

Sunday, 30 May 2021 11:26

A fundraising cyclist has visited Staithes, Whitby and Scarborough on his way around the entire British coast.

Harry Lidgley had clocked up 5,000 km by the time he arrived in Scarborough.

It was day 27 of a gruelling 6,800 km bike ride around the British coast, calling at the 168 lifeboat stations on the mainland - plus Anglesey and Skye, which can be reached by road.

The day began at Newbiggin, where he set up camp by a church. Harry cycled 192 km south, calling at Blyth, Cullercoats, Sunderland, Hartlepool, Redcar, Staithes and Whitby before pulling up in Scarborough for the night.

He didn’t have to sleep rough as his uncle Jim lives in town and put him up. The previous time he slept in a proper bed was at Wick, near the top of Scotland. Jim is headteacher at Northstead School.

Besides Jim, he was greeted by Scarborough lifeboat’s full-time mechanic Dave Horsley, who asked Harry if he had had any punctures.

“No”,

Harry replied.

“Just a broken wheel”.

Harry, 23, says:

“Having rowed around Britain last year as part of team Eve Endurow, I thought anything less than the full monty of going round again would just be underwhelming”.

Visiting only mainland lifeboat stations ensures that the journey is continuous, upholding the endurance aspect of the challenge.

“Too much time sitting around on ferries to get to all the islands would make it more of a pleasure cruise. And I wanted to take on a real physical challenge,” Harry says.

“I love discovering and pushing my limits.”

The formidable circumnavigation, closely hugging the coastline, adds distance and dropping down to sea level to reach the stations, several times a day, adds serious elevation - over 65km in total (almost eight Everests).

Harry is carrying everything he needs to live on the road apart from food and water, which he obtains en route. Starting and finishing in Poole, home of the RNLI HQ, he aims to complete his marathon ride within 42 days.

“I most enjoy myself being outside and derive great satisfaction from coming up with ambitious ideas, planning them well enough to make it a reality, then seeing it through,” he says.

“I’ve wanted to do a big cycling expedition for a few years now, so it’s exciting to finally get the opportunity to take this on.”

Harry is from Newbury in Berkshire but lives in Cambridge, where he studied classics, graduating in 2019. He then took an MA in environment and development at King’s College London, graduating in 2020. He trained for his expedition by working as a Deliveroo cyclist.

He said:

“The RNLI has always been a standout institution and charity in my eyes, so fundraising for them in any instance needs no questioning. However, my family has a sailing background, with my experience mostly being on the Cornish south coast.

"We’ve seen the crews in action a couple of times, so the RNLI has obviously been a noteworthy aspect of most of my summer holidays. Rowing around Britain last year clearly made the RNLI an even more important (and reassuring) presence for our team, and after various crews offering us advice and even motoring out to see us, it was an easy choice to support the lifeboats for my next challenge.”

Donations can be made via a website, Gblifeboatcycle.com, where Harry’s progress can be monitored.

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