One of our most popular members of the Uni-link team, driver Jamie McColl, has recently been on tour via some distant lands, far different to those he’s normally used to when driving for Uni-link!

Whilst many of our drivers would prefer to spend their holiday relaxed and away from a steering wheel, Jamie and three of his friends made a target to drive 5000 miles across Europe to raise money for the SWORDE-Teppa charity. SWORDE-Teppa aims to help combat the linked problems of poverty, disease and the destruction of the environment by promoting sustainable world development within the environment.

The team of four chose two quite unusual cars to make the drive an interesting one – namely a VW Scirocco and an Isuku Trooper. Jamie is seen here on the day before departure with the two cars and his brother in law who joined him on the drive through Europe. Both cars wore messages of support from Uni-link across the windscreen.

They travelled across from Southampton to Dover, and spent the first night in Germany after landing in Dunkerque, driving through Brussels and following the Rhine through Germany. The next day, they drove across Austria, Croatia, Serbia and Bulgaria. The long route through Turkey took a further two days before reaching the Georgia border. It was here they ran into a few problems, as the chosen route was to land inside the malaria risk zone in Tajikistan. Undeterred, and as the target of 5000 miles had been set, they decided to return to the UK in the two original cars, as the original plan was to leave them at the destination and fly back.

So, whilst the destination was unfortunately not reached, an amazing 6500 miles were covered, with only a few nights in the hotel and the remainder of the nights living off the land in a test of human endurance and survival, one which has earned him deep respect from his colleagues and passengers.

Alex Hornby, Uni-link’s Operations Manager, said "We are all very proud of Jamie’s achievements. To spend time away from work performing a grueling feat in the name of charity is admirable and we congratulate him and his team for his determination to raise so much money for a worthy cause in SWORDE-Teppa."

Over £1800 has been raised, including £100 from the company and many contributions from members of the Uni-link team. If you want to make your own contribution, or to find out more about the work of SWORDE-Teppa.

Please visit the SWORDE-Teppa website.