Ben, Ned and Charlie take on the Poles of Inconvenience rally!

When Ben Barber, Charlie Duffy and Ned House heard about the Poles of Inconvenience driving rally challenge, they knew it was just the quirky, motoring test of endurance they wanted to undertake, and raise funds for East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA) at the same time.

After unrest and conflicts in other parts of the world ruled the team out of taking part in the Mongol Rally, the adventurous trio “thought it would be fun” to be one of the one hundred teams taking part in the 2023 Poles of Inconvenience rally instead.

“Charlie and I are both from Norfolk and have had relatives who have been helped by East Anglian Air Ambulance. It’s an essential service and we didn’t realise until recently that it didn’t receive regular government funding.” Ben explains.

Covering three continents, seven mountain ranges and three deserts, the aim of the Poles of Inconvenience challenge is for teams to collect points for each of the poles reached in an old and ‘unsuitable’ (according to the Poles of Inconvenience website) car! There is no support and no set route; teams can drive in whichever direction they choose to bag their chosen poles and pick up the points!  

So, the team’s JustGiving fundraising page was launched, a car, “a Nissan Micra - a car older than us all and an engine the size of a lawn mower!…”  was found on Facebook Marketplace and, once the small matter of Charlie obtaining his driving licence was resolved, Ben, Ned and Charlie were ready to start their adventure. It would take seven weeks and see them pass through twelve countries.

“We decided to drive for around three hours each day. It was a crazy adventure, so we thought ‘why rush!’ We wanted to get more out of it, so we slowed ourselves down to really experience it and enjoy it.” Charlie explains. 

The fourth team member, their trusty Nissan Micra also did a really good job!

Ned jokes, “It was held together by duct tape, prayers and sheer determination! But it pretty much lasted the entire journey. We did a basic mechanics course before the start, a crazy spray paint job on it so it stood out, and we put speakers onto the roof! It only broke down once – due to the heat in France. People signed the car and donated to our EAAA fundraising along the route.”

However, just three days in, Charlie broke his collar bone and the ended up not being able to make use of his new driving license after all!

Undeterred, they bagged their poles, they camped and slept in hammocks in France, Belgium, Germany, Czechia, Austria, Italy and Spain, but were also keen to tackle wild terrains and unmarked roads, so Ben, Ned and Charlie went against the grain and set their sights on Morocco, while many of the other teams headed east.  

“We thought reaching the Western Saraha area would be cool!” says Charlie.

They weren’t disappointed; the trio loved the people and cultures of the North/Western tip of Africa:

“Everyone was so friendly and happy to help strangers. It was so interesting to chat with locals.  We were well looked after everywhere we went, and we even given tagine by the locals – it was delicious!” Ben says.

They describe the heat at times as “brutal” especially when the car’s air-con broke. It reached a whopping 42 degrees at one point.

The experience is one they will remember for the rest of their lives. The connection and support with EAAA made it even more special. Having smashed their initial £5,000 fundraising target, the support of Ben, Ned and Charlie has helped to provide advanced critical care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to the most seriously ill and injured people in the region by air and road.

In December, they visited Helimed House, EAAA’s Norwich base to learn more about the impact of their incredible fundraising on providing out-of-hospital critical care, which will help to give everyone the best chance of surviving and recovering from a life-threatening emergency.

Thank you to Ben, Ned and Charlie (and the Nissan Micra!)