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It all began when Acorn were looking to buy their first minibus back in 2001 and needed to raise a substantial amount of money and Dr Clunie said he would help.

 

Firstly, he and his long-distance running chum Rob Hitchings decided it would be a good thing to run from one side of the Dartmoor National Park boundary to the other.  So, in June they did just that, running from Lydford to the Manor Inn, Ashton. In 2002, Dr Clunie decided he would run the London Marathon and completed that in in 3 hours 5 minutes.  Both these events and some grant applications enabled Acorn to purchase their very first minibus.  

 

Inevitable knee issues brought his running career to a premature end and so the first (of many) bicycle was bought.

 

In 2008, Dr Clunie persuaded his son Ben, at the tender age of 16 to cycle John O’Groats to Lands End raising money jointly for Acorn and the RNLI. This was duly completed over 10 days, cycling 100 miles a day. In 2014 the two Doctors: Hayter and Clunie thought it a grand idea to cycle 260 miles around the perimeter of Devon, again raising funds for Acorn.

 

Perhaps the most bonkers endeavor of all, in 2019 Dr Clunie decided to cycle half-way up Mount Everest, using Bridford Hill as his mountain.  It comprised 27 cycles up and 27 cycles down. A total of 4200m of vertical climbing and over 54 miles. Lastly, he did the Acorn cycle 300 miles in September 2020 over a weekend cycling 152 miles a day.

 

All these challenges have raised significant sums that have helped Acorn immeasurably over the years including helping buy and replace two minibuses.

 

So here we are.  The Doc has decided to hang up his stethoscope but not his cycling helmet.   He has generously committed to raising his last tranche of funds for Acorn by cycling from home in Devon to the coastal town, Bari in Southeast Italy via Paris, Geneva, Milan and Rome.  He will be accompanied by his good friend Olaf and the plan is that it should take them 3-4 weeks.   There will be several places where you can follow their trip and keep up to date with the Doc’s daily blog:

 

The two surgeries will have a very humorous and visual wall map, updated daily with their progress and escapades.  

 

We will be publishing regular blogs from Dr Clunie, both at the Surgeries and also on this website and the Acorn and Cheriton Bishop General Practice facebook pages.  

 

If you wish to support Dr Clunie in his endeavours, then please use the Donate button on the Acorn Home page or you can donate cash via the collecting buckets at the Surgery.

 

Thank you for all your support and GOOD LUCK DOC CLUNIE!