Round Britain By Bike 2025
The Challenge
Hello, my name is Bernard Bunting. I am a 67-year-old husband, father, former soldier and founder of a family business, and I live with Young Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, diagnosed in
2022.
On 18 May 2025, I will embark on 4,200-mile bike ride round the coast of Britain in aid of The National Brain Appeal charity to support the world’s first Rare Dementia Support Centre, which will open in early 2026 in Woburn Square, London. My goal is to raise £1million – in the form of 100,000 one-off donations of £10 from individual sponsors – to
support the running costs of the Rare Dementia Support Centre, including staffing, developing services and funding activities offered there.
My goal is not just to raise an ambitious £1 million but to also raise awareness of the
potential of this fantastic centre to help people living with or at risk of inherited, atypical and young onset dementias.
My family and I have been grateful and inspired by the support given to us by these incredible, dedicated experts. But there is scope for the National Brain Appeal to deliver so much more – the initiatives have been developed but significant funds need to be raised to help deliver them. And this is where I want to do what I can to help.
I have always been a keen cyclist and undertaken many cycling challenges, and now I am getting ready for this, my biggest and most important challenge yet…
Over about seven weeks, starting on 18 May 2025, I intend to cycle the c. 4,200 miles. I will post regular updates as I make my way round the country starting from Putney Bridge, London, via the white cliffs of Dover, Land’s End, John O’ Groats and back down the East Coast through Edinburgh, round Norfolk to Essex and returning along the north bank of the Thames back to Putney Bridge via the site of the Rare Dementia Centre in Woburn Square.
I am physically strong, and well prepared to meet this challenge. But, because my short-term memory is not as reliable as it was, I will need to make sure I stop regularly, take a photograph or write a blog entry because I won’t remember otherwise. So, I;ve got my work cut out!
I will be covering all my own accommodation and food expenses along the journey, so every penny raised will go directly to the running costs of the Rare Dementia Support Centre, including staffing, developing services and funding activities offered there.
Please make a single donation of £10 via my JustGiving page or use the QR code below – if you can donate more than £10, fantastic! Most importantly, please share my story far and wide, with family, friends and colleagues, urging them to support this important cause.
Thank you so much for your support.
Bernard Bunting
