Dentist takes on Land’s End to John o’ Groats cycle for Dentaid

A Bristol-based dentist is embarking on an epic 1000 mile-cycle challenge that will take him the length of Great Britain to raise money for Dentaid the Dental Charity.

James Pope, an associate dentist at Stoke Bishop Dental Centre in Bristol and at Edgar Buildings Dental Clinic in Bath, will pedal his way from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Known as LEJOG, the journey will take James around 14 days to complete and takes in dramatic cliffs, rolling countryside and high hilly passes.

The money raised by James’ two-wheeled challenge will help us to provide outreach mobile dental clinics which offer dental care and oral health advice to people experiencing homelessness, harm, poverty and abuse.

We run a range of dental clinics in Bristol and the south west, working closely with charities to provide life-changing dental care for rough sleepers, people overcoming addiction, survivors of violence and abuse and vulnerable women.

“I volunteered for Dentaid in Looe in Cornwall, working with seafarers to help them access better dental health”, said James. “Experiencing first-hand the great work they do for the underprivileged in the communities they serve made me want to do this for them.

“I’ve always been active and for my 50th birthday last year my practice in Bath got me a tandem skydive experience. The instructor I was doing the jump with recommended doing Land’s End to John O’Groats and that’s where I got my inspiration from.”

While James is a veteran of many charity challenges in the past, including several marathons, he has admitted that this latest one will provide a real test.

“The closer I get the more I realise how long a way it is – I’ll be doing 65 to 95 miles a day, so really draining, and I’ll be carrying my kit with me the whole time. I even have a tent in case I suffer a mechanical failure and can’t make it to my hotel.

“I’ve spoken to a few fellow dentists about what I’m doing and most think I’m a bit mad! But it will be good to see the country and support a great cause at the same time.”

James has already raised more than £500 and is looking to add to this total by the time he sets off on his journey on Monday 23rd June.

To contribute to James’ journey please visit his JustGiving page.

To get more details on our other fundraising events, or if you want to stage your own in support of Dentaid, visit our fundraising page or email fundraising@dentaid.org.