Three students complete epic bike ride home from Erasmus placement in Holland raising over £1250 for Project APE...

Two UWE students and a Kiwi have cycled back from Holland to England on vintage Dutch bikes after their six month Erasmus placements at Radboud University Nijmegen. Tom Murray Willis and Adrian Walker have both just finshed their Masters in Planning at UWE and decided to end their university experience with an adventure that they will remember for the rest of their lives. Callan Attwell from New Zeeland who studies full time in Nijmegen also joined them on the ride and was a valuable member of the team.

The ride took five days to travel around four hundred miles through Holland, Belgium, France and England. The students found that bike routes gradually deteriated along the way which led to getting lost on several occasions. At one point they got lost and ended up doing an accidental tour of an industrial port including a ride around a 'Total' oil refinery on the North coast of France. However the students completed the ride in the planned five day schedule, and were greated back in Kent by a champagne reception.

The aim of the ride was to raise money for Project APE which is the charity set up by UWE Architecture student Oliver Goddard. The goal of this project is to fund and build a playground at an orphanage in Tanzania, East Africa. Nine students are currently out in Africa for ten weeks building the playground. The bike ride from Holland to England (The Great Escape) raised over £1250 for Project APE so it was a great success. If you would like to donate money please email tommurraywillis@hotmail.com for details.

All Three Action Shot
Tom and Cattwell
Tom and Adrian
Upon Arrival
Finish Line