To celebrate his 90th birthday, local Great Grandad, Tony Newton, is gearing up for his biggest challenge yet, ‘Tony’s Tremendous Skye or Bust Trip.’ What does that entail?  Tony plans to cycle an extraordinary 430 miles to take him to Kyle of Lochalsh via The Isle of Skye from his hometown here in Chorley.

Taking on the challenge to raise funds for Inspire Youth Zone, a local children’s charity which works with young people of all ages and abilities to give them somewhere to go, something to do and someone to talk to, Tony isn’t letting his milestone birthday be a barrier. As a life-long cyclist, he plans to use his phone as a satnav, keep tabs with his family over email, and rely on B&B’s along the way for rest stops.

Tony has lived in Chorley for more than 65 years, and even met his wife Dorothy at a dance in Chorley Town Hall. He has always been a keen cyclist, with one of his first memories being just five years old and cycling about a mile to school on a bike with little wheels. He and his family have been involved with Inspire for a few years now, with himself, his granddaughter Hannah and his grandson-in-law Alex Wotherspoon having all previously taken on various challenges to help fundraise.

Inspire Youth Zone is a safe and affordable space, open when schools are shut, for young people to come and meet new friends, get involved in a variety of activities, build their resilience and be introduced to positive role models. It’s got young people at its heart and believes that no one should be left to struggle alone and everyone should have access to equal opportunities. It cost £1.6million each year to run the operation and that relies heavily on fundraising.

Tony will be departing on his incredible 430 mile trek on 17th June and you can support him here. By doing so, not only will you be helping to motivate him to keep peddling, you will also be ensuring the 10,000 young people who have been impacted by Inspire continue to have the support they need to get the best out of life.