Lakeside Niamh gets on her bike for MIND

Waitress Niamh has been pedalling between all three Discover Parks to help highlight the importance of looking after our mental health.

Niamh Cawthorne, 14, is the third member of her family to work at Discover Parks. Her dad, Mark and brother Alister both work in the Guest Experience Team at the Herefordshire parks. Niamh has been waitressing at the Lakeside Bar & Bistro at Pearl Lake Country Holiday Park during the summer holidays.

But that’s not the only thing the Cawthorne’s have in common. All three love cycling and are supporters of MIND, the mental health charity.

Family history

In 2007, dad Mark, then 27, took part in the London Marathon, running for MIND. His close friend, Leon Cooper, had taken his own life the year before. At the time, Mark said: “Leon was a budding actor but never quite got the breaks. He missed out on a major role and in the end, life just got too much for him.”

At the time, Mark worked in a gym in Malvern, Worcestershire and had supported hundreds of people who were struggling with mental health problems. “Mental health wasn’t something that we opened up about back then and I was thrilled that I got so much support and raised £4k for MIND from my London Marathon run.”

Mental health and young people

Now, in 2025, Niamh has set herself her own cycling challenge to raise more funds for the mental health charity.

According to MIND, 1 in 4 people experience a mental health problem. Many wait months to get support, including for the most serious mental illnesses, getting more unwell as they wait. At the same time, the number of children and young people struggling with their mental health is soaring. In 2023 the MIND helpline was accessed by 122,000 people.

Cycling Challenge

Niamh’s summer challenge was to get on her bike and raise money with every turn of the pedal. “My goal is to raise £487 over 4 weeks by cycling 487 kilometres. That’s the equivalent distance from Aberystwyth on the West coast to Lowestoft on the East coast of the UK – it’s my Sea-to-Sea challenge.

Dad Mark says: “I was made-up when Niamh started asking about the charity and expressed her interest in furthering our support as a family. Certainly, mental health is spoken about in school frequently now – which it certainly wasn’t in my day.”

Park ‘run’

Niamh has been riding between all the Discover Parks – Arrow Bank in Eardisland, Pearl Lake in Shobdon and Rockbridge on the outskirts of Presteigne. Niamh calls into the parks to report that all is well with her and the bike. She grabs a tub of Rowlestone Ice Cream from the park receptions to help keep going!

Niamh’s brother Alister has been planning her routes and looking after her health and safety. He’s also been riding with her from time to time and is her chief bike mechanic. All three Cawthornes’s are huge advocates of exercise and outdoor time as an improver of mood and happiness. According to Mark: “You never regret a workout!’

Niamh says she’s been overwhelmed by the support from Discover Parks and the Lakeside Bar & Bistro in particular. Lakeside manager, Clare Mountford-Jones, popped a donation box on the bar and posted support on social media. With the annual 3-day ParkFest taking place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, Niamh made bracelets for guests to boost her donations. Along with the £400 raised by her school, Wigmore High, for a charity non-uniform day, plus the support rolling in for her cycling challenge on her Just Giving Page, Niamh hopes she’ll be handing over close to a £1k to MIND at the end of the summer.

Support Niamh here –
Niamh Cawthorne is fundraising for Mind