A CHEPSTOW student will be cycling from the Eiffel Tower to the Blackpool Tower in June to raise money for charity.

Ellie Clutton will be one of six University of London Institute in Paris (ULIP) students making the trip to raise money for mental health charity Mind.

In addition they will be accompanied by a support crew, ready to act should anything go wrong.

The journey between Paris and Blackpool will take nine days, from 1st June to 9th June.

Ellie Clutton has completed the trip in previous years but it was following the groups that preceded her which sparked her initial interest.

She said: “I first got involved in the ULIP Tower to Tower Bike Ride after having followed the first ever group of students doing the ride on social media as a prospective student.

“I never in a million years thought I would then be doing it myself a year later.” 

Miss Clutton is in her second year of a BA in French Studies, a course which she said has been enhanced by being based in France.

While a 600 mile bike ride sounds intimidating Miss Clutton’s return for a second year was never in doubt.

She said: “Despite the mentally and physically challenging aspects of this ride, the sense of achievement and the fact it’s going towards such a worthy cause made me not think twice about participating again. 

“As it’s my second time round I am a lot more excited as I know what to expect.

“We have a great team of riders and support crew this year so I cannot wait to share the challenge with them.”

The group hopes that their efforts will result not only donations towards Mind but raise awareness about the cause.

Miss Clutton said: “Mental health charities like Mind are so important given today, the need to break the stigma around mental health is as big as ever.

“As students, we are constantly faced with mentally challenging situations and we really appreciate the work that Mind does to help people like us.”

To donate to the team visit the website www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ULIPTowerToTower