In July 2022, on the hottest day ever recorded in the UK, Haydn Griffiths, a strong swimmer, tragically drowned whilst swimming off New Brighton Beach. After 5 days of searching by the RNLI and coastguard his body was recovered.

In July 2024, 2 years on from the incident, myself, Sarah Jarman and Alex Hughes will be riding the coast of Wales over 7 days, a total of 530 miles. We will start in Chepstow and ride from the south to the north along the coast, finishing at New Brighton on the Wirral. The ride includes the same climbing as climbing Mt Everest and then descending it again. For this challenge we are aiming to raise £5,000 for the RNLI.

Haydn was a nature lover and enjoyed being exposed to the elements. He enjoyed open water swimming, skateboarding, mountain biking, snowboarding and sailing, to which he competed at an international level. He had a can-do attitude and no matter the result, he would always come away with a smile on his face and always knew how to lighten the mood.

This challenge was set by myself in memory of Haydn whilst trying to encompass his personality into taking me outside of my comfort zone both physically and mentally. For us this ride will be a physical challenge to complete as some of us are not particularly sporty anymore nor have we done any proper cycling before, so this is the unknown.

Too many people are still drowning. More than ever we need the RNLI’s help. As a charity, the RNLI depends on our donations so it can go on saving lives and keeping us and our loved ones safe.

RNLI lifesavers are our lifeline. They’re the lifeboat crews who provide 24-hour search and rescue right around the UK and Ireland. The lifeguards keeping watch on 240 of the busiest beaches in the UK and Channel Islands. And the RNLI safety teams and educators working tirelessly to stop people getting into trouble in the first place.

Thank you.