Steele Raymond take part in the Race Across the Trail

On Thursday 1st May, two teams from Steele Raymond team took part in the Race Across the Trail event, an exciting fundraising challenge where teams competed to track down as many mermaid tail sculptures as possible in a single afternoon.

Part of the Julia’s House Great Tail Trail campaign, the Race Across the Trail event brough together a multitude of teams from across the region, all racing to visit the vibrant and uniquely designed mermaid tails located throughout Bournemouth, Poole, and Christchurch. To add an extra level of difficulty, participants were encouraged to get creative with their methods of travel. They could either walk, cycle, hop on buses, or ride scooters – anything except from cars.

The event started and finished at Conker Distillery & Tap Room in Southbourne, where teams were rewarded for their efforts with well-earned food and drinks. It also served as a fantastic opportunity to network with fellow participants and other sponsors of the Great Tail Trail initiative.

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Cariad Medway-Smith, Private Client Executive in our Private Client team, provided feedback on her experience taking part in the event. She said: “We had so much fun taking part in the Race Across the Trail event. On a wonderful sunny afternoon, our team decided to stick to the beach and use Beryl Bikes to cycle from Southbourne to Sandbanks and back. The ice cream pitstop might have cost us a tail or two but it was definitely needed!

“We had the opportunity to speak to lots of people along the way who were asking us what we were up to. It’s always a pleasure to support Julia’s House – they play such a vital role in our local community.”

Becky Hobell, Trainee Solicitor in our Private Client team, also shared her thoughts on taking part in the event. She commented: “Our team had a ‘whale’ of a time in the Race Across the Trail. We decided to collect the tails at Southbourne Beach, head back to Pokesdown Station for a train to Branksome, and then cycle down to Bournemouth Gardens. We encourntered some technical issues hiring the bikes, which might have cost us a bit of time, so we donned our running shoes and ran over 5k round the town centre to the tails.

“It is such a privilege that we can support Julia’s House in their Mermaid Tail initiative, as they are an outstanding charity and are crucial to so many families in our community. It was an amazing day out and we are all so pleased to have been involved.”

The Great Tail Trail comes to an end on 1st June, when there’ll be opportunities to complete the trail, take final photos with the tail sculptures, and celebrate the event before they’re removed from their locations. A special Farewell Weekend will take place on 14th–15th June, giving everyone a final chance to see all the tails together in one place before they are auctioned off for charity.