By Isle of Wight Observer
Penny farthing enthusiasts arrived on Saturday to ride their penny farthing bicycles on a 70-mile route around the Island.
The riders stopped off at Pop’s Wood, at Love Lane in Bembridge, before arriving at the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary in Sandown, where they were entertained to a welcome reception by CEO, Lawrence Bates.
The sanctuary is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the two brown bears, Benji and Balu, from Azerbaijan, at the beginning of June, and this week excitedly announced that air cargo specialists, Cargolux, have agreed to fund the flights of the two bears to the UK. This is very significant as it is the most expensive element of the project.
The group, complete with Union Flag and bell-ringing, were raising money for the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary and Dementia UK
Neil Laughton, organiser and founder of the Penny Farthing Club: “We wanted to do something memorable and meaningful.
“The penny farthing ride is our way of combining fun, fitness, history and purpose.” Over the weekend, they also took in Ryde, Sandown, Bembridge, Ventnor, Niton, Totland, Yarmouth, Cowes and Osborne House, East Cowes.
The Penny Farthing Rally preceded the start of the “Steps to Remember” 70-mile fund-raising walk around the Isle of Wight.
This passport-based fund-raiser is to encourage families coping with the challenge of memory loss to link hands together, and encourage others to partake either actually or virtually in this fund-raising venture to raise money for Dementia UK Admiral Nurses IW.
Mal Butler