Every so often, our lives are touched by inspirational people. Pel Scopes is one such person, and my youngest daughter and I were fortunate enough to meet him along the Granite Way, just outside Okehampton. We were simply out for a bike ride, but Pel was on a mission.
Grays, Essex, to Penzance, Cornwall. On foot
Towards the end of last year, Pel decided he needed an adventure in his life. Alongside that, he also wanted to do some good in the world. Within quite a short period of time, he bought some hiking boots, and some bits of camping kit, then set off to walk to Penzance.
In London, he found an abandoned shopping trolley, which he said was an absolute blessing. By then, his back was hurting, and he simply put his backpack, and everything else he had with him, into the trolley. Oh, and he nicknamed the trolley Bruce.
For a great cause
Pel chose to support a charity called Friends of Treetops School. The charity supports the Treetops Learning Community in Grays, Essex. That is a special educational needs school, catering for kids from four years old, right up to nineteen. Those kids have a wide range of complex needs and disabilities.
Pel set up a JustGiving page, which is still live (February 2025), and I really would love it if you could make a donation. Pel’s JustGiving page is here.
A truly inspirational man
Very few people would attempt to walk the 315 miles, from Grays to Penzance. Fewer still would choose to start doing so in mid-winter, camping along the way. And yet, that’s exactly what Pel chose to do.
When my daughter and I encountered Pel, along with shopping trolley, we found a remarkably friendly, humble man, doing an amazing thing for others. I unquestionably believe that the world is a better place because of people like Pel in it. We were very fortunate to have met him, and I’m happy to say that Pel completed his walk, and absolutely smashed his fundraising target.
You can say hello to this absolute legend on Facebook.