October 2011

Berkeley Insurance complete their Wild adventure

A team of five from Berkeley Insurance pushed themselves to the limits to raise vital funds for The Prince’s Trust.

For three days Martin Cobley, Mike Lewis, Tom Palmer, Michael Sayers and Ashley Stevenson, powered entirely by their own energy, tested their physical fitness and mental strength to cover 100 miles hiking, biking and kayaking.

BI Wild challenge teamBut the Challenge didn’t stop there - the team also worked hard to fundraise for The Prince’s Trust and were prepared to go the extra mile to raise as much money as possible. They arranged fancy dress street collections, car washing and raffles. Sadly valued team member Anand Odedra, who helped the team reach their target, had to drop out due to injury before the challenge, but continued to support the team.

Michael Sayers, who was team captain, said:

The team’s highlights from the weekend included; hiking to the summit of Dunkery Beacon; getting a little lost through the rolling moors and woodlands but discovering some amazing sites; kayaking a lake while finding grid references, which was a first time experience for some; and cycling (or trying to cycle) gradients of 17% compared with the Tour de France’s 12% gradient!

He continued, "The Prince’s Trust and sponsors looked after us extremely well and were always on hand to lend some encouraging words to keep us going. We were exhilarated at reaching Exmouth beach on the last day having cycled 30 miles through heavy rain. Thankfully the sun came out to shine on our parade and we were able to toast a job well done.

"Our finishing position was a respectable mid-table which we were satisfied with but we took so much more pride in how we got round the course."

Ashley Stevenson: "What an amazing but challenging weekend our team encountered; completing the challenge and raising over £4,500 for the Prince’s Trust has given me a great sense of achievement"

Mike Lewis “Thoroughly challenging but enormously rewarding weekend through the most breathtaking scenery”

Martin Cobley “The weekend certainly lived up to its name it was both ‘wild’ and ‘challenging’, an experience I will never forget.”

On behalf of everyone at The Prince’s Trust, we like to say a big thank you to The Berkeley Insurance Team who raised a fantastic £4,564 and showed a great deal of commitment to the challenge!