The Plymouth-Banjul Challenge
How hard can it be?
The Plymouth-Banjul Challenge

Logo used with permission. www.plymouth-dakar.co.uk

Good Morning, Teacher!

Good Morning Teacher is a two year campaign by the Diocese of Bradford to raise funds for capital improvements in church schools in their link Dioceses in Northern Sudan. In Sudan, the local church and community raise the modest fees for each student but the costs of permanent structures such as classrooms is out of reach of most people. Bishop Ezekiel from Khartoum and Bishop Yousif from Port Sudan have each asked whether we can help build more classrooms to cater for the growing number of children who are queuing to get into school.

Some other idiots (sorry - teams)

Team Rubbish logo

Banger and Smash logo

Welcome to the "How hard can it be?" website. The public face of our plan to drive over 4000 miles from Yorkshire to Banjul in Gambia in a clapped out banger. In doing this, we hope to raise over £10,000 for good causes. Please help if you can.

Latest: "How hard can it be?" have arrived in Banjul. Stan & Phil are now back home in the UK. All well. Blog & photos will be updated as we get the opportunity to write it.

Cartoon from Bradford Telegraph & Argus

Cartoon from Bradford's Telegraph & Argus - November 14, 2008

The Challenge

"Fancy a drive to Timbukto", asked Phil, "or possibly Banjul in Gambia?""

"Check out www.plymouth-dakar.co.uk", he said. So I did, and thought, "How hard can it be?"

So I said "Yes", and suddenly we had applied, been accepted, and now we have to do it!!

So that was the beginning, and the creation of the "How hard can it be?" team.

So what did we decide to do? Well, we have to drive over 4000 miles from Yorkshire to Banjul in Gambia. This includes driving through France, Spain, Morrocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Senegal and finally the Gambia. On the way, once we get through the minefield (really! - this is no joke), we travel across about 350 miles of the Sahara desert - where there are no roads, no signposts and certainly no petrol stations or mechanics. We are on our own. Christmas will be in Marrakech, and New Year's Eve will probably be beside a sand dune in the Sahara.

Click on the above link to see our first video, as we continue to prepare the car.

The Route


View Larger Map

Then there are the rules!

The Rules

(Please see www.plymouth-dakar.co.uk for the exact details of the rules)

  1. Cars must cost less than £100.
  2. Maximum budget for vehicle preparation: £15
  3. Once the Challenge is underway, there will be no form of formal assistance from the organisers in any way - Teams are ON THEIR OWN (apart from other teams).
  4. All of vehicles that make the full distance to Banjul MUST be handed over to the organisers to be auctioned in aid of local Charities.
  5. All vehicles must be LEFT-HAND DRIVE

Rules 4 & 5 cannot be broken under any circumstances!

Are we mad?

Quite possibly! But our goal is to raise at least £10,000 for good causes - and you can help!

So get out your credit card (see charities page), or look at the help we need to make this trip, and get involved. You know you want to, and we desperately need you to!