Influencer joins charity bike ride to Newtown

A group of cyclists are today heading towards Newtown as part of a charity and awareness ride for a children's carer respite charity.

Former runner and gold medalist, Julian Goater, has started his ambitious cycle of 225 miles from Hampshire to Mid Wales in aid of The Honeypot Children’s Charity which supports young carers as young as five years old.

On the 1st August, the Hampshire resident joined a team of cyclists in Honeypot’s first-ever ‘House to House Cycle’, travelling from one of their residential respite houses in the New Forest to their residential respite house in Pen-y-Bryn, near Newtown.

They are due to arrive at Honeypot's home in the area on Sunday.

The 71 year old said: “I heard about Honeypot Children’s Charity through my long-term friend. He told me about the fantastic work the charity does supporting young carers - who of course need occasional breaks from their never-ending chores. They really are unsung heroes.”

“I’m looking forward to the physical challenge but also riding in places I’ve never ridden in before. Particularly looking forward to the challenges of keeping everyone together and riding as a team. That way the miles will hopefully fly by!”

Before setting off, each cyclist was paired with one of Honeypot’s young carers who are currently looking after a loved who is sick or poorly. A photo of the child with their name and a bit about their story will be gifted to them as a keepsake on their long journey.

Mr Goater said: “I have been matched with a little girl called Mia who is 10 and helps her family care for her two older brothers who live with a life limiting condition. They are wheelchair bound and need around the clock care.

"She recently attended a respite break with Honeypot where she got to do lots of activities, she particularly loves trampolining and arts and crafts. I will keep her picture close to me throughout the cycle to give me plenty of encouragement.”

Julian will also be joined by influencer Travis Nelson who is famous for cycling everywhere with his cat, Sigrid. 

With 300k+ followers on Instagram, many of Travis and Sigrid’s fans will be coming out to see the pair along the route to cheer them on. Sir Jim Smith, the President of the Zoological Society of London, will also be joining, along with philanthropist and long-time supporter of Honeypot, John Pocock. 

Mr Pocock, from Pulborough, conceived the idea for House to House after taking on John O’Groats to Lands End for Honeypot in 2022 and raising more than £100,000 together with his son Jamie.

He said: “I have experienced firsthand what it’s like to look after a parent who needed a lot of care and attention. The responsibilities and emotional strain was a lot to take on, so I can only imagine what a young carer must be going through on a daily basis! 

“House to House has an important message, we’re travelling from one of Honeypot’s respite houses to the other, taking on the responsibilities and challenges that come with such a long journey. If these four days give cyclists just a little insight into the endurance of Honeypot children then they too have walked a mile in their shoes, or more literally, cycled 225 miles.

“I want to see this event grow year on year to help Honeypot reach more young carers so they too can create happy childhood memories and build brighter futures.”
Travis owner of Sigrid stated “It was really nice to come down to Hampshire and see the house, facilities for young carers and learn about what Honeypot do. I am riding for young carer Jessica, Sigrid was born deaf and certainly appreciates Jessica’s sign language efforts as a young carer!”

In 1996, The Honeypot Children’s Charity opened its first house in Blackfield where it now caters for young carers, aged between 5 and 12 years, who perform a caring role for a loved one, like cooking, cleaning, administering medication and emotional support.
Honeypot gives these amazing children the opportunity to create happy memories at one of their 
three respite houses across the UK. They get to play on zip wires, trampolines, bake, watch movies, have campfires under the stars and make like-minded friends.

Chief Executive of Honeypot, Simmi Woodwall said: “We are immensely grateful to all the cyclists for taking on such an ambitious cycle in aid of our young carers. John Pocock came to us with a vision and I’m so happy that we have been able to help him bring this to fruition. We hope that this will be the first of many House to House cycling events to come and we invite anyone and everyone to join us.”

Honeypot and John Pocock have been working tirelessly with pie events to plan out a bespoke route that has never been taken on before. The team will set off on day 1 from Hampshire to Salisbury, day 2 will end in Gloucester, day 3 will end in Ludlow, and on the final day they will cross the finish line in Pen-y-Bryn, Wales.

Honeypot provides a wrap around service for young carers, designed to suit their individual needs. This includes their residential respite breaks; educational breaks to help boost their self-esteem in the classroom; Wellbeing Grants which provides children with essential good like musical instruments and school supplies; Memory Making Days to a farm or the beach; and Pastoral Support to help the families of young cares with mental health information and more.