Tour de Toilette for charity pair

The volunteers raised nearly £1,500 for the Burngreave project, SAGE Greenfingers, which provides therapy for adults with mental health problems living in the area.

The pair, Rachel Clark and Beth Robinson, completed the return journey from London to Nice to raise funds for a compost toilet, in an adventure nicknamed appropriately ‘Tour de Toilette.’

Rachel, age 25, said: “The current toilet is a bit of a walk away for our members with limited mobility, so having a compost loo on site would make things much easier.

Beth, 24, added: “We’re both keen growers and believers in the benefits of being in the great outdoors, so we set out to raise this money for thie small charity with a big heart.”

And the duo certainly had stories to tell from their trip. They detoured many times along the way to visit examples of compost loos and were particularly impressed with those sporting French graffiti or scented with floral decoration. They also picked up ideas from various gardening and arts therapy projects they stayed with.

The brand new deluxe compost toilet will cost £7,500 so the charity still has a way to go. With several eco-features it will have disabled access, be odour free and well ventilated. Once SAGE reaches its target, the new toilet will be installed on SAGE’s main allotment site in Grimethorpe. Members currently have to trek 300 yards up a rough track to the central toilet. SAGE hopes that this new facility will enable more disabled people to benefit from their service.

To welcome their heroes home, SAGE threw a party for its members and volunteers, where Rachel and Beth told stories and recounted some of the best bits from their online ‘bog blog.’

Visit www.mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/cycleforsage to make a donation.