Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

North-east businessman to cycle to Paris with rugby stars in bid to raise £555k for Doddie Weir charity

Duncan Barton along with 19 other cyclists will travel from Edinburgh to Paris at the start of October.

North-east businessman Duncan Barton is fundraising for Doddie Weir foundation.
North-east businessman Duncan Barton. Image: Duncan Barton.

A north-east businessman will take on a gruelling 700-mile cycling challenge to raise funds for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.

Keen cyclist and rugby enthusiast Duncan Barton will join the likes of Scottish rugby hero Kenny Logan at Murrayfield Stadium on October 1.

Twenty cyclists will carry the match ball for the Rugby World Cup game between Scotland and Ireland to the Stade de France, Paris, arriving on October 7.

The challenge is in aid of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research and those also taking part include Ally McCoist, actor James Nesbitt and presenter Kirsty Gallagher.

The My Name’5 Doddie Foundation was set up by British Lions and Scottish rugby international Doddie Weir, who died just over a year ago from MND.

A fundraising goal of £555,000 is a tribute to the number five Doddie wore on his rugby shirt.

Mr Barton is preparing to cycle from Edinburgh to Paris beginning October 1.
Mr Barton is preparing to cycle from Edinburgh to Paris beginning October 1. Image: Duncan Barton.

Mr Barton and his partner, Annie Kenyon, have raised thousands for the foundation since it was established in 2017, following Mr Weir’s MND diagnosis.

Mr Barton said: “This is a charity which is very close to our hearts. Annie’s mum Margaret died from MND in 2021, and we are committed to helping to make a difference and to doing whatever we can to support efforts to raise enough funds to find a cure for this awful, incurable disease.

The fundraising goal is £555,000

“My personal fundraising goal was £15,000 and thanks to fantastic support from the local community, that goal has already been exceeded with the total now sitting at more than £17,500 so we have upped the goal to £20,000.”

Much of that has come from a special fundraising initiative, Donate a tonne for Doddie, which Ms Kenyon launched in the summer inviting the farming community to donate the value of a tonne of whatever they produce.

“We’d like to give a huge shoutout to all of the local farmers who have donated a tonne as well as clients, friends and family who have supported this fundraiser,” said Duncan. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Conversation