National Trust staff, volunteers and visitors in Northumberland will be getting on their bike to cycle the distance from Lindisfarne Castle to St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall.
The target is to cycle the equivalent distance of more than 500 miles on a static bike, to raise funds towards helping birdlife at Lindisfarne Castle and wildlife projects along the Northumberland coast.
The idea to use a static bike came from Hannah Kirkby, who works at Lindisfarne Castle, and who will be taking on much of the pedal pushing.
Hannah was inspired to raise money for wildlife on the Northumberland coast after listening to a presentation by National Trust ranger Kate Jones.
Ringed plovers have been nesting on Holy Island since the 1970s but their numbers have declined dramatically in recent years causing their UK conservation status to be moved from amber to red, meaning they require urgent conservation action.
The threats they face are habitat loss due to shingle beaches sanding over, and increased disturbance levels.
Fencing off an area on Holy Island of perfect shingle habitat will reduce disturbance and allow the birds to breed, but it will cost money to erect the barrier and monitor the birds’ progress.
Ringed plovers employ a unique strategy when their nests on open land are threatened by predators. If a potential predator approaches the nest, the adult will walk away from the scrape, calling to attract the intruder and feigning a broken wing.
Once the intruder is far enough from the nest, the plover flies off.
“When Kate told us about the plight of the plovers on the shingle shelf I instantly wanted to help,” said Hannah. “I love cycling but I wanted to do something that everyone could get involved with, so I thought a static bike at the castle would be a great way to raise money.”
The aim it to complete the 537.5 miles in a week from Monday, September 16 by taking turns on the static bike outside the admissions hut at Lindisfarne Castle.
Hannah can be sponsored on her JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lindisfarne-castle-cycle or you could head to Lindisfarne Castle and cycle for up to five miles (or 20 minutes) on the bike.
