Coastal Challenge raises £5300 for GUCH

The thought of driving around the coast or the UK started out simply as an idea for a holiday but grew into something much more than that, as Kieran Sandwell explains:

In September 2005, I decided that I wanted to discover more about the UK and started thinking about a driving holiday around the entire coast. Karen, my wife, was keen on the idea too and so we started planning our 4,000 mile coastal route. With the average mileage nearing 200 miles a day, a friend suggested that we should turn our holiday into a charity event. As well as raising money for GUCH, we decided to try and raise awareness of giving blood and of the NHS Organ Donor Register too.

In the next few months it was full steam ahead booking B&Bs, planning the exact route, setting up a website, contacting local press and collecting sponsors. Halfway through our preparations, I had a defibrillator fitted and we didn't know whether I would be allowed to drive again in time for the start date. Our 'plan B' was for Karen to drive for the entire trip but luckily I was given the go ahead to drive two weeks before we were due to leave - phew!

So, on the 24th March, we set out from Ford HQ (who kindly loaned us a car) and headed south from Essex towards Kent. Within three days we were at Land's End and started our journey north through Wales and into the breathtaking scenery of the Scottish Highlands. I he daily routine of 'get up, pack car, drive, hand out leaflets, arrive at B&B, unpack car, eat, update website and sleep' was often very tiring but the ever-changing scenery combined with the opportunity to meet up with fellow GUCHs friends and family along the route certainly made up for it.

We have really enjoyed our Coastal Challenge and thanks to the generosity of others we have managed to raise over £5300 for GUCH.

You can join the NHS Organ Donor Register via our website www.coastalchallenge.co.uk or call 0845 60 60 400