Josh and Susan's 40 miles in memory of Craig

Josh Walton, 11 from Widdrington near Morpeth, teamed up with Grandma Susan to ride 40 miles on their mountain bikes, all in one day, to raise funds for Newcastle-based St Oswald’s Hospice . The inspiration behind their challenge was a very special man called Craig Strachan, who died in April 2019. Craig would have celebrated his 40^th birthday on 9^th July, and Josh, who is Craig’s second cousin, along with his Grandma Susan, Craig’s Auntie, decided to mark the day in a unique way.

Susan, 66, said:

“Craig was admitted to St Oswald’s Inpatient Unit as symptoms of his bowel cancer worsened. Although he was only there for a couple of weeks, the care he received was marvellous. He told us he wanted us to raise money and support the hospice on his behalf, and at his funeral, we had a collection for St Oswald’s. Losing Craig was devastating for our family, he was my sisters miracle baby and so loved by everyone. He just a genuinely lovely lad.

“After Craig died, we wanted to do something in memory of him, but also to show our gratitude to the hospice. Craig loved his bikes and his passion was off-roading in his Land Rover. I do some cycling myself, so I decided to do a 40 mile charity bike ride on what would have been Craig’s 40^th birthday, Thursday 9^th July.”