A NINE day motorcycling challenge by two of its bosses helped Skipton Building Society raise an 'incredible' almost £73,000 for Alzheimers charities.

Directors Paul Fenn and Ian Moore set off from the building society's base at The Bailey on their matching Triumph Bonneville T100s on a 2,332 mile trip to visit all of the company's 87 branches.

'Miles for Memories' took them all over the country, including one mammoth day which saw them travelling 360 miles from Plymouth in Devon, to Solihull in the West Midlands.

Paul Fenn, director of branch distribution, said:“We thought the trip was going to be tough, but we underestimated how tough it would really be.

"Essentially we had to visit on average nine towns or cities every day for nine days, which meant riding for 10 to 12 hours a day on average."

He said low points were 13 hours through London and the South East, arriving in Bournemouth at 9pm on a Saturday, followed by 12 hours and 360 miles, to Plymouth before heading up to Solihull.

"The high point was the great support from all our teams in the branches across the country, they fed us and cheered us on along the way, " said Mr Fenn.

"All in all, it was a great experience and one I’m glad we did, we had a few laughs and we have some great memories, in particular the welcome reception we got when we arrived back in Skipton, but most of all because we smashed our fundraising target for a cause that’s so close to so many of us and our customers.”

At the same time the directors were criss-crossing the country, their colleagues carried out various challenges to match the same amount of miles in their journey - with the company as a whole setting itself a challenge to raise £50, 000 for the Alzheimer's Society and Alzheimer’s Scotland.

Over the nine days, which coincided with World Alzheimer's Day, staff carried out memory walks, sky dives, static bike challenges, and triathlons, as well as selling cakes and running coffee mornings.

And, at the end of it all, the building society smashed its target by more than £20,000, by raising £72,769.

"Skipton (Building Society) is dedicated to supporting our charity partners and we wanted to do something really iconic to help raise the vital funding for the charities," said Mr Fenn.

"We wanted this ‘something’ to involve all of our employees across the UK and reach this incredible goal as a team. Together we have made a massive achievement surpassing our original target. None of this would have been possible without our colleagues or our generous customers and communities who all got involved.”

Rosie Mellor-Silvester, of the Alzheimer's Society, thanked all those who had helped make Miles for Memories such a success.

"This event has been a huge undertaking, and it’s a true credit to the organisation to see everyone pull together to make it such a success," she said.

“It’s been an absolute joy to work with Skipton Building Society on Miles for Memories and to see it exceed all expectations has just been the cherry on top. The funds raised are incredible, and the engagement with the event across the organisation has been such a fantastic achievement. It is only through events like this, and the support of dedicated partners, like Skipton, that we are able to reach and care for those living with dementia, their family and friends."