7,000km road trip on 1970s Lambretta

An English couple, living in Spain, have raised money to support our blind veterans by riding their 1970s Lambretta scooter from Los Alcazares in Murcia, Spain to Ayr in Scotland and back again.

Setting off on 22 June, the couple took only essential bike parts, tools and two weeks worth of clothes for their epic adventure which would see them travelling around 7,000km.

The challenge

In just two weeks, fundraisers Paul and Julie made their way unaided, and without a support vehicle, on their 51-year-old scooter across Spain, boarded the ferry to Plymouth and then made their way to Ayr via Bristol and Bolton. They were joined by a friend in Bolton for the last leg of the outbound trip to the Euro Lambretta Jamboree taking place in Ayr. 

Paul first planned to complete this challenge, splitting the fundraising total between ourselves and Cumbria based charity, Eden Valley Hospice, in 2020 alongside three friends on their classic Lambretta scooters but Covid hit and their plans had to be put on hold. Paul says:

"Five years on and I was determined to finish what we started, it's just the one scooter this time with my partner Julie as passenger, but we made it even more challenging by extending the original route which was going to take us to Cumbria.

"We choose Ayr as it was the venue for a huge Lambretta rally. Last time we managed to raise  €12,000 even though it was cancelled and we have now added to that total in support of both of these fantastic charities."

Supporting our charity

Our charity was chosen when the group planned their first adventure as we were the chosen charity of the Ambleside Rally that they were heading for as their original destination. Paul says:

"As we were finishing what we had started, it was only right that we once again supported Blind Veterans UK.

"During our trip, we were met by Colin in Bristol who works with the charity. He spoke to us about the work of the charity and how they support blind veterans in their rehabilitation.

"We are honoured to have raised more money to support the charity this time around. The total raised so far is  €5,510 but we hope to reach  €8,000."

There is still time to show your support to Paul and Julie and to help them reach their fundraising target:

Having completed the challenge on 7 July, Paul and Julie were straight back to work last week but have had time to think back on their huge journey. Paul says: 

"We wanted to make some noise, raise some funds and prove that even after five years and a global pandemic, you can't stop scooterists on a mission!

"Our overwhelming feeling is one of complete success. Not just in achieving the ride, which in itself on such an old bike is not short of amazing, but of the camaraderie that has been demonstrated from all walks along the way. We received  support not just from avid scooterists but from onlookers who didn't even know a 1950s designed local commuter vehicle could go that far.

"The stand out moment for us was meeting a man called Frank, Frank waved at us from a lay-by and then chased us up the road clasping an envelope in his hand containing, what we discovered later, a hand written letter telling us that he had been following our trip and a £100 donation. He went on to give us some lucky pennies to keep us safe on our onward journey."