Charity Adventurers raise £9,000 for SSAFA

04 August 2021

Two intrepid adventurers have now completed the South West Coastal Path to raise money for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity’s Cornwall branch, as well as the Brains Trust, SWCP Association, the Veterans Hub Weymouth, and Reorg, which teaches Jiu Jitsu to veterans.

Setting out on 10th June, West Country residents Alex Ledger and George Bullard have run the entire 630 miles of the South West Coastal Path, England’s longest National Trail, finally reaching journey's end in Poole on 16th July.

Taking some five weeks from end to end, and despite blisters and sunburn and every kind of weather, George, who runs SkySchool paramotoring school, and trailrunner Alex, doggedly kept going and have raised some £9,000 for SSAFA.

Setting out from Minehead, the duo traversed four counties - Somerset, Cornwall, Devon and Dorset - on their epic trip, to be greeted by enthusiastic well-wishers at journey’s end in Poole.

When not running, Alex and George took on paramotor flights, surfing, kayaking and paragliding as extra challenges to notch up an even greater achievement.

Alex and George, who trained in the Alps for their expedition, said: “The pandemic has been a huge challenge for people’s mental health, so we saw this as a fantastic opportunity to inspire people to get out into the countryside and start exploring off the beaten track, which can work wonders to boost morale.

“We’re thrilled that we’ve been able to send out this message and raise so much money for SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity.”

Richard Phillips, Chair of SSAFA Cornwall, said: “This is an amazing achievement by Alex and George for which SSAFA is so grateful. The £9,000 they’ve raised will make an enormous difference to the help we can give the Armed Forces community in Cornwall.”