Brownlee Brothers Get Behind Yorkshire Cafés With Tea Trail Charity Challenge

Yorkshire-born Olympic triathletes Alistair and Jonny Brownlee are launching a charity challenge to help support their favourite local cafés and raise funds for the Brownlee Foundation.

‘The Cafés Are Open’ Challenge kickstarts on Friday 4th September, urging walkers, runners and cyclists to visit a trail of cafés and tea rooms across North and West Yorkshire over three months. The first 500 people to complete the challenge will receive a special bundle of goodies from Yorkshire Tea and a chance to win a cycle ride with the Brownlees.

The Brownlee Brothers have been running, cycling and swimming the landscape of their home county for over 20 years. The rolling hills and splashes of open water have made it one of the best locations for triathlon training you could wish for. And refuelling at local cafés on the route is an unmissable part of their routine.

When the nation locked down in March, the lads were forced to swap roads, hills, open water and tea rooms for treadmills, static bikes, a resistance pool and a kettle! During lockdown training, while missing his favourite café pitstops and pondering how to continue fundraising for the Brownlee Foundation during these strange times, Jonny had an idea – The Cafés are Open Challenge.

To take part in the challenge, participants need to make a £30 donation to the Brownlee foundation before visiting 5 out of the 15 Yorkshire cafés on the route between 4th September and 30th November 2020, stopping for a picture of the red teapot plaque and a brew at each one. Once finished, they can follow the instructions at www.thecafesareopen.com to submit their photos and complete the challenge.

All funds raised will go to the Brownlee Foundation and will be used to help children get active through the Foundation’s events. Cafés on the route include The Commute Café and Bettys Ilkley along with Bloomfield Square, Hamiltons Café Bistro, Abbey Tea Rooms, Tea on the Green, The Tea Cottage, The Brownie Barn, Riverbank Burnsall, The Old School Tea Room, Cobblestones Café, Zarina’s Tea Room Café, The Old Barn Tea Room, Town End Farm Shop and The Clubhouse.

Jonny Brownlee said:
“One of the biggest things we’ve missed in lockdown is our tea breaks at local cafés and we know it’s a challenging time for them. These strange times have also affected our ability to fundraise for the Brownlee Foundation, set up in 2014 to support children to stay active and enjoy sport – which is more important now than ever.

“This is where the idea for the Cafés Are Open Challenge was born – an opportunity for Yorkshire folk to get out and about to some of the county’s best cafés and support the Foundation, with the bonus of getting their hands on some really exciting merchandise from our friends at Yorkshire Tea. Get involved if you can!”

For further information visit www.thecafesareopen.com