When were you at QEH?

Ben was at QEH from 2016 - 2023 (Years 7 - 13). James was at QEH a little longer having joined the Junior School in Year 4. 

Are you still in touch with your QEH friends? 

Yes, we are very much still in contact. We have been on several trips with our close friends from school since leaving and all find time to meet up when we are all back in Bristol. 

What do you do now? 

At the moment, we are both at university going into our third year. James is in Keele studying medicine and Ben is in Cardiff studying Environmental Geoscience. 

What is the 'Home to Rome' expedition?

Our adventure is going to see us cycle from Canterbury to the Vatican. It’s a distance of 1250 miles and involves just over 68000 ft climbing. We are following a variation of the Via Francigena which is an ancient route for pilgrims who wished to visit the Holy See.

The route will take us through France, passing through Arras and the Champagne region, and then onto Lake Geneva. From there, we will climb up into the Alps, tackling the Grand St Bernard Pass, which at 2470 metres, is the 3rd highest paved road in Switzerland. We’ll descend down into the Northern Italy, working our way across to the Cinque Terre.

The final push will involve passing through the historic towns and rolling hills of Tuscany before reaching our end destination.  We are hoping to complete the route in about three and a half weeks and can’t wait for the challenge. 

Whilst we are pedalling, we are trying to raise money for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). MSF are the world’s leading medical humanitarian aid organisation. They work in over 70 countries providing medical assistance to those facing conflict, natural disasters, epidemics or are excluded from health care. In 2023 they carried out more than 16 million consultations worldwide with many being at mobile clinics or refugee camps.

Why did you decide to embark on this challenge? 

We have always enjoyed being outdoors and both enjoy cycling but have never really done a long distance cycle ride or bike packing trip. While having a look at routes we could complete in Europe, we stumbled across this one and thought it would be the perfect entry to long distance bike packing but would still provide us with a challenge - something we both enjoy. 

Did your time at QEH and participation in outdoor pursuits influence your passion for adventure? 

Yes. We were both heavily involved in the outdoor pursuits department of the school. We both completed Bronze, Silver and Gold DofE and also took part in some of the Ten Tors training weekends.

One of my highlights from the involvement in the Outdoor pursuits department, was the 2023 trip to Scotland, where we hiked from Corrour back to Fort William over Ben Nevis.

James’ highlight of his involvement within the outdoor pursuits team is heavily contested, either being the trip to Corsica involving walking part of the GR20 trail or the trip to Finland where dog sledding, cross country skiing and sleeping under the Northern Lights are just some of his many amazing memories. We would like to thank all of those teachers involved in the outdoor pursuits team, especially Mr Kelly, Mr Dunn and Mr Martineau, without your passion and involvement those trips wouldn’t have been the same. 

How can people support your expedition?

People can support our adventure by donating to our Just Giving page for MSF using the link below, or for any updates on our progress, they can follow our newly created instagram account, @home_to_r0me. We would like to thank you in advance for any support you can give. 

https://www.justgiving.com/page/hometorome

From all of us at QEH, and The Elizabethan Society, we wish James and Ben the best of luck on their adventure!