Unicycling teens celebrate end of coast-to-coast trip for charity

Jim and Felicity finished their coast-to-coast challenge at Robin Hood's Bay on Sunday afternoon

Visitors to the North Yorkshire coastal village of Robin Hood's Bay were recently treated to an unusual sight: two teenagers whizzing down the steep hill towards the sea on unicycles. It was the conclusion of a summer-long challenge for the pair, which had seen them spending their weekends travelling from St Bees in Cumbria to the Yorkshire coast on one wheel each.

"It's sad the adventure has ended," said Felicity Evans, 18, from Morland in Cumbria, as she caught her breath again following journey's end on Sunday.

Her pedalling pal, 14-year-old Jim, from the same village, added that it felt "very good not to have to do it anymore".

It was Jim who had first thought of the challenge after being gifted a unicycle by the director of his local theatre group in Penrith.

Felicity was then given her unicycle by a resident of the neighbouring village.

Jim said it was about a year later that the duo decided unicycling the coast-to-coast journey "would be a good idea" - and with that, the pair's single-wheeler plot was hatched.

The route from the Cumbrian coast to North Yorkshire was split into 15 different days and featured some spectacular scenery

Their route across the country was split into 15 sections and completed on weekends, being driven back and forth.

"We also stayed in Yorkshire with my wonderful grandmother," Jim explained.

Their longest day was about 25 miles (40km), from Osmotherley to Richmond in North Yorkshire, Felicity said.

However, she added that the most challenging section of their unicycling odyssey was at Chimney Bank in the North York Moors, one of the steepest roads in the country, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%).

"Jim rode nearly the whole way down. It was very steep, so a lot of walking," Felicity said.

The pair's parents helped them to plan the logistics, spending hours plotting a route on Ordnance Survey maps.

However, the completion of the challenge was postponed because of a major wildfire in the North York Moors National Park.

Julia Evans, Felicity's mother, said: "The smoke was the main issue, travelling across the roads and routes they'd be using."

The delay was "disappointing" because Felicity's brother and father were not able to attend the route finish, Ms Evans said.

Jim and Felicity's parents spent hours helping to plot a route from Cumbria to Robin Hood's Bay

Jim said that people along the route reacted with "lots of shock and people asking us what we're doing and why we're doing it".

"There's just lots of good faces people pull," he smiled.

By carrying out their unicycle challenge, the friends have raised more than £2,500 for children's charity Unicef.

Felicity explained: "It's definitely nice to be raising it for young people.

"There's loads of stuff going on now and it's nice to know we can try and help, even if it's just a little bit."

Felicity's mum said it had been "an adventure for us all really, from start to finish, with Fliss and Jim as the stars".

"I remember when Fliss came home from school and gleefully announced she and Jim wanted to do the coast-to-coast and they were going to do it on their unicycles, of course."

Louise, Jim's mother, agreed it was "exactly the sort of crazy idea we would expect from the pair of them".

"It has been a lot of driving and trailing around the countryside to check they hadn't wandered off course," she said.

"But we've enjoyed seeing new places and meeting people along the route - two teenage unicyclists make for a good conversation starter," she said.

Felicity's mum said she was "extraordinarily proud" of both the teenagers.

"It's the end of a long and fruitful journey."

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