Bowden family raise £1,300 for Truro’s Mermaid Centre

A watering can worth of fundraising can grow into something much bigger, and that is exactly what happened when the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charity welcomed the Bowden family back to Treliske with a cheque for £1,323.82.

Kerris Bowden and Jill Bowden travelled to the Mermaid Centre to hand over the total, raised through this year’s Kernow Racing Team Ladies Only 10 Mile TT, on behalf of everyone who took part. Jeremy Batt, Consultant Breast Surgeon, was there to accept it.

📷Credit: Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charity

A race that welcomes every rider

Now in its third year, the Kernow Racing Team Ladies Only 10 Mile TT has built a reputation as an event where ability matters less than turning up. Riders are welcome to go at their own pace, whether they are chasing a personal best or simply riding for the cause. The 2026 edition built on the momentum of the year before, when the event raised close to £1,200.

This time the total reached £1,323.82, all of it going to the Mermaid Centre Fund, which supports patients using the breast care services at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

Every entry adds up

Behind the final figure sits a long list of people: riders who paid to enter, volunteers who marshalled the course, and supporters who backed the event without ever getting on a bike. The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charity credited the Bowden family’s dedication, along with everyone who took part, for pulling together a total that outdid last year’s.

Every donation makes a difference, and the money raised will go directly towards helping to support patients using the services of the Mermaid Centre. It is the kind of local fundraising that quietly keeps adding to what the NHS budget alone cannot stretch to cover.

📷Credit: Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charity