A SHROPSHIRE farmer, his son, and his friends, are to undertake a 1,000-mile challenge in memory of his son.
Stuart Griffiths' son, Toby, a beloved member of the Ludlow Young Farmers' Club, died at the age of 23 in July 2025, after battling leukaemia.
Starting on May 1, Mr Griffiths and the rest of his group will be cycling from Land's End in Cornwall all the way up to John O'Groats in Scotland, a route he hopes will take the team 10 days.
The 58-year-old from Cleobury Mortimer will be raising funds for Cure Leukaemia, one of the charities that supported the family throughout Toby's illness.
"Everybody has been just fantastic, and it's kind of our way of repaying them," Mr Griffiths said.
Toby was a "well-loved local lad" and a "staunch supporter" of Ludlow Young Farmers' Club, who has gone on to raise funds in his memory, including from a charity dinner held at Ludlow Racecourse last year.
Toby was diagnosed with leukaemia in November 2023, after he began feeling "run down", but the family initially thought he was just working too hard at his harvesting job on a nearby farm.
After visiting the doctors a couple of times, he was later sent to the hospital, and it became a "whirlwind from there on in".
"My wife didn't really realise what was going on, so her and Toby went to Worcester, they just thought it would be blood tests," Mr Griffiths said.
"We kind of went through the door, we were ushered in through to a room with about four or five doctors, and were told the news that that's what they were suspecting it to be."
Despite initial positivity and Toby undergoing chemotherapy, it became clear that his leukaemia was incurable.
The family decided to sell the cows on their dairy farm to spend more time with Toby, and in his final months, planned plenty of holidays and activities, including ziplining.
So far, a Just Giving page set up to support the group's challenge has raised over £6,000, and the fundraising does not stop there.
Mr Griffith's wife intends to undertake the Bridgnorth Walk in his memory, and the family plans to hold a clay pigeon shoot day later in the year.
Members of the public wishing to make a donation can do so via this link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/stuart-griffiths-1?utm_source=Facebook_SFMC&utm_medium=email_social&utm_campaign=LFCFRUK_MomentumDonLapse&fbclid=IwY2xjawQ18l9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEecmDFhD25xJlhwUit0Dar9KShyi9B6z_qkcb2qW59MIB2Mh9erykH3HEmQbY_aem_L8iIt6i-Zi6Ibqh4-eTbyQ
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