A member of the Quaker Meeting House in Bradford is to ‘get on her bike’ to join a group cycling from Cumbria to Westminster in London.

Judith Hammond will be among a group of Quakers making their way to No.10 Downing Street to ‘speak truth to power’ and recreate an event that happened 358 years ago.

The riders will set off on Sunday, July 22 from Swarthmoor Hall at Ulverston in Cumbria following a short meeting for worship which will frame each day.

They are riding 360 miles in 12 days to help draw attention to the current state of the welfare state and are expecting to arrive in London on Friday, August 3.

Along the way, they will travel through villages including Yealand and Bentham and towns such as Settle, Skipton, Keighley, Bakewell, Loughborough, Milton Keynes and Leighton Buzzard.

They will also pass through some of the UK’s major cities, including Bradford, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Derby, Leicester, Northampton and Watford where they will be welcomed and hosted by fellow Quakers.

Judith Hammond, 75, from Middle Rank, Bradford on Avon, said: “We want to give witness to our concern about the dismantling of the welfare state including our NHS and Social Care Systems.

“We wish to draw attention to the suffering and distress resulting from recent welfare changes and rising inequality in society and to challenge the promoted narrative that we cannot afford to care.”

The group are following in the footsteps of an early Quaker founding member, Margaret Fell, in the year that the NHS celebrates its 70th anniversary.

In the spring of 1660, in a spirit of non-violence, Margaret Fell rode on horseback from Swarthmoor Hall to London with a declaration to appeal to King Charles II to end the persecution and suffering of Quakers.

At that time Quakers stood ‘outside the protection’ of the State which, the group says, echoes the plight of many people today.

In London they will present a Declaration to Downing Street written in the style of Margaret Fell’s, along with compelling evidence supporting and validating their concern.

They are appealing to the government to end the dismantling of the welfare state and the suffering of those who are victims of the changes.

They also want the Government to renew the welfare state ensuring a safety net for us all and to commit themselves to act for equality and the common good.

In addition they will carry the stories of those affected by welfare cuts on postcards. These will be presented to MPs.

Judith added: “This ride is following in a long tradition of Quakers of challenging social injustices – from opposing slavery to seeking prison reform. It arises out of our belief in putting faith into action.

“The Welfare State grew out of a vision 75 years ago to reduce poverty, disease and lack of education and provide care for each of us when ill or unemployed or old. Our welfare system protects all of us against life’s contingencies.

“Despite the debts after the Second World War we chose to afford it. We believe we can choose to afford it now and we must: The social cost of not affording it is incalculable.

“We should not stand by and watch the most vulnerable suffering, and our most valuable social asset, our welfare system, admired throughout the world, being dismantled. We have a moral responsibility to uphold it.”

The group welcomes all those with shared values to join them at any point on the ride for as long or as little as they choose and can manage.

Information about the ride and postcard campaign can be found on http://www.kendal-and-sedbergh-quakers.org.uk and on the Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/rideforequality.