Beginning on 23rd April 2016, we will be traveling to Northern Spain to cycle 200 miles along the Camino de Santiago to raise money for The Passage, a wonderful charity which helps homeless people transform their lives.

The Passage runs London’s largest voluntary sector resource centre for homeless and vulnerable people, helping up to 200 men and women each day. Their team of outreach workers makes contact, often late at night or early in the morning, with those sleeping rough in Victoria as they are bedding down or getting up each day.

You can learn more about the work of The Passage at http://passage.org.uk/ or by watching the following videos:

Rebuilding Lives: https://vimeo.com/142324693

Nathan's Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6DMpDeK1EI

The story of Henry and how he turned his
life around: http://passage.org.uk/videos/henry-passage/

The Passage and Its People: http://passage.org.uk/videos/passage-people/

El Camino de Santiago, or The Way of St. James in English, is a network of routes across Spain and Europe which all lead to Santiago de Compostela, in the northwest of Spain. Since the Middle Ages, these routes have been walked as a pilgrimage to the tomb of the apostle St. James. Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one's home and ended at the pilgrimage site, often over distances of several hundreds of miles. Nowadays, tens of thousands walk or cycle the Camino de Santiago every year.

The idea for our cycle to Santiago is Peter's chosen way to mark his 50th birthday on 23rd April. His original idea was to set off by bicycle for Santiago from home in London but we have modified our plans to allow us both to share the journey. We will begin our cycle route in León. Once we reach Santiago, we plan to continue to Cape Finisterre, on the Atlantic coast. Finisterre, which derives its name from the Latin 'finis terrae', meaning 'end of the earth', was believed in Roman times to be the end of the known world.

One week before we depart for Spain, in the run up to his 50th birthday, Peter will be cycling from London to Walsingham, in Norfolk, to visit his oldest and dearest friend, Augustine, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday. Walsingham, like Santiago, has been a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. You can read about Augustine here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/12009136/The-100th-year-of-a-life-spent-finding-its-purpose.html

In pedalling our way along these ancient pilgrim routes, we wish to express our gratitude for the precious gifts of loving family and friends, good health and rooves over our heads. In raising money for The Passage, we stand in warm solidarity with those of us who will spend tonight without a home.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you for your generous contributions - nothing is too small.