Leicestershire and Rutland Freemasons this weekend completed cycling 300 miles to celebrate the Tercentenary of the Grand Lodge of England and raised thousand of pounds for the Masonic Charitable Foundation and Rainbows Children's Hospice based in Leicestershire.
They cycled to each of the 11 Masonic meeting places within Leicestershire and Rutland Here in Oakham the meeting place appeared to be Caffe Nero. The challenge saw them cycle to the headquarters of the United Grand Lodge of England at Freemasons' Hall, Covent Garden in London. They took a short detour to the site of the former Goose and Gridiron Ale House in St Paul's Churchyard, London where the first Grand Lodge was formed.
The route they took was spread over four days:
Thursday 8th June 2017
Leicester – Loughborough – Ashby – Coalville – Hinckley – Lutterworth, finishing in Northampton.
Friday 9th June 2017
Northampton to Freemasons' Hall, London.
Saturday 10th June 2017
Freemasons' Hall, London – St. Paul's Cathedral – Northampton.
Sunday 11th June 2017
Northampton – Market Harborough, Uppingham, Oakham, Melton Mowbray – Syston, finishing at Leicester.
The Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, based in Lougborough, provides care to those that are affected by life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. Helen Lee-Smith, Head of Individual Giving at Rainbows, said: “I would like to thank Leicestershire and Rutland Freemasons for organising their 300 mile cycle ride to celebrate 300 years of Freemasonry and for supporting Rainbows. Leicestershire and Rutland Freemasons are doing a wonderful thing raising funds to help us run the hospice - fundraising efforts make such a huge difference to both the children and young people at Rainbows and their families."
The Masonic Charitable Foundation supports Freemasons, their families and the wider community. David Innes, Chief Executive of the Masonic Charitable Foundation said: “Our work depends entirely on donations from Freemasons and their families across England and Wales, and we are continually surprised and inspired by the unique and challenging ways that they raise funds for us. We wish all participants in the Leicestershire & Rutland 300 mile bike ride the best of luck and thank them in advance for their hard work and generosity.”
