WATCH: Charity Vanman Andy Riley from Dunbeath sets off on his big drive round the NC 500
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Keep your eyes peeled for Andy Riley (55) who will embark on his charity challenge in his wheelchair accessible van tomorrow morning.
Andy, who has been living in Dunbeath since the end of 2019, is attempting to become the first person to tackle the whole route in just three days in a van which has been specially adapted for a driver sitting in a wheelchair.
The former actor, who has been living and conquering multiple sclerosis for 10 years, has been busy these last few days getting things ready for his big drive and working on a theme tune to go with his video which features lots of scenic shots of Caithness. He selected the song Cars and was given permission from Gary Numan to adjust the lyrics for a amusing piece to go along with his charity trip.
He hopes to raise money and awareness along the way for three charities – Scottish Autism, MS Trust and Equity Charitable Trust. And will be keeping people updated on his Twitter feed @theCharityVanM1 as well as through his videos on YouTube and hopes as many people as possible will subscribe.
If all goes well he plans to set out on another trip round the coast of Great Britain in the summer. "I hope to get some followers who will stick with me," said Andy, who is originally from Rotherham in South Yorkshire. "It is something I planned to start a couple of years ago, obviously we had Covid – I'm probably a bit rushed this time but thought I better do it quickly because you don't know what's coming next."
He initially got the idea for the big drive after making regular trips to Inverness for treatment. "I was trying to adapt my van so I could stay in it instead of coming back in one day," explained Andy. "The NC500 is something everybody wants to do – it will be quite a feat for me. Hopefully I will get to see some amazing scenery. I am already bowled over by it living up here."
He chose his charities for specific reasons stating that Scottish Autism have a very good reputation with the autistic community and run the New Struan School, offering a tailored education to enable autistic people to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. The Charity Vanman wanted to support the cause, especially given the setbacks all have endured with lockdown and restrictions.
The MS Trust he selected due to having multiple sclerosis himself and he feels it is a fantastic charity, particularly with the schemes it has for training specialist nurses.
The last piece in the jigsaw belongs to the Equity Charitable Trust – a charity dedicated to providing grants for training and support for professional performers who want to retrain for a new career, or who face financial difficulties.
Andy attended drama school and worked for several years in the profession before retraining as a teacher. He explained that when he reached out for help from the trust, they provided him with an all singing and dancing space-age bed that could sit him up and "spit him" out whenever he was being a "lazy monkey".
The Charity Vanman is planning to start his trip from Dunnet Head on Friday morning before heading towards John O'Groats taking video clips along the way. During the first day he hopes to cover about 260 miles, down the coast to Inverness and then over to the west coast.
"If I can get up to Durness by the end of day two I think I will have cracked it," he said. "I am very excited about it."
He intends to take along a couple of toy dogs he bought to act as his companions and add an extra touch of comedy to the whole journey. Andy plans to finish his challenge on Sunday night.
Driving does tire him out so has been preparing by getting in lots of sleep in an effort to store his energy. He spends the majority of his time in a wheelchair.
Donations can be made through his Charity Vanman JustGiving team fundraising page.
