Surgeon and son in mammoth James Bond-inspired 2,000-mile rally for Macmillan
A surgeon and his teenage son have completed a mammoth James Bond-inspired 2,000-mile rally in a bid to raise funds for charity.
Simon Lewthwaite, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital near Oswestry, and his 18-year-old son Oli have successfully taken on the Fireball Rally - all in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
Taking place over four days, the father and son duo camped and travelled through eight countries including France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium, taking in some of 007’s iconic locations and many mountain passes, covering just shy of 2,000 miles.
The pair took on the journey in their 1986 Lotus Esprit, a car model made famous by the 007 films 'The Spy Who Loved Me' and 'For Your Eyes Only.'
Mr Lewthwaite described it as “the trip of a lifetime” for them both.
He said: “We did it. It was an absolutely superb trip, one which the both of us will never forget.
“I thought now that Oli is 18 and soon to leave home to go to university to study engineering, it was a good time to do something just us two – and to bond while enjoying some real Bond locations. We had a fantastic time.
“Before setting off, I was a little anxious as the Lotus Esprits are renowned for being less than 100 per cent reliable, plus I had tightened every single nut of the vehicle, so if something went wrong, that was on me. Thankfully, it managed it.”
Mr Lewthwaite chose to undertake the rally to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support because both of his parents, John and Sallie Lewthwaite, died from lung cancer.
He said: “Both of my parents needed palliative care and support, and we wanted to recognise this by helping an organisation that provides these services, allowing people to stay in their own homes for much longer than they might otherwise have done.
“Macmillan provides a wide range of services to help people through very difficult times, so we wanted to do what we could to help them help others.”
The pair have already raised £1,000 for Macmillan and there’s still time to donate via justgiving.com/fundraising/simon-lewthwaite
