A former Harrogate teacher is preparing to cycle 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats for charity – just weeks after being honoured at Buckingham Palace.
Retired Belmont Grosvenor School teaching legend Mrs Gillian Furniss will set off this weekend on the epic challenge, raising money for three charities close to her heart: Capture, Blood Cancer UK and Active Against Cancer.
The challenge comes shortly after Mrs Furniss attended the first Royal Garden Party of the season at Buckingham Palace, having been invited in recognition of her remarkable 43 years of service at the Harrogate independent prep school.
Mrs Furniss, who retired last summer, travelled to London with her daughter Holly for the special occasion.
During the afternoon, she enjoyed tea, sandwiches and cake in the Palace gardens and had the opportunity to speak with both HRH The Queen and HRH The Princess Royal.
Mrs Furniss, who taught at BGS for more than four decades before retiring last summer, said:
“Attending the Royal Garden Party was such an amazing experience, a real experience of a lifetime and I was very honoured to have been invited.
“The Queen asked me if I was enjoying my retirement and that I deserved it after 43 years of teaching – I was so amazed she was talking to me. I told her I was doing a bike ride!”
That bike ride begins this weekend as Mrs Furniss embarks on the length-of-Britain challenge.
She will cover around 1,000 miles during the journey, with her longest day in the saddle stretching to 78 miles and her shortest covering 37 miles.
To prepare, she has been training on an electric bike gifted to her by Belmont Grosvenor School on her retirement.
Despite having completed previous cycling challenges, Mrs Furniss admits this will be her biggest test yet.
“I’ve done the Coast to Coast ride which is just 215 miles and I cycled 100k on a tour of Belgium but this is the furthest I’ve ever cycled.
“I am excited but I also have a little bit of trepidation. But I’m doing the ride with an organised group so there is a support system in place.”
Anyone wishing to support Mrs Furniss and her fundraising efforts can do so via her JustGiving page.
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