A Stirlingshire resident and her older brother are preparing to take on a gruelling cycling challenge at the end of July all for two charities close to their hearts.

Sarah Grayston, who works at Stirling University, is set to take on the Lands End to John O'Groats cycle along with her older brother, Richard Grayston from Bathgate.

The trip is nearly 1000 miles in total and the marathon physical challenge is all to raise funds in aid of two worthwhile charities, The Mental Health Advocacy Project (MHAP) based in Broxburn, and Action in Mind based in Stirling.

Sarah Grayston explained why she is looking forward to the challenge and why it is such a personal journey her and her sibling are taking on.

Sarah said: "We have close family members suffering with mental health problems, and we are therefore are very aware of the good work that the charities do for individuals and in the community.� Since moving to Stirling, I have been cycling to work and thought what better challenge to raise money than to cycle from one end of the UK to the other." Sarah who lives and works in Stirling, is also delighted that she can do her bit to help raise awareness about such an important issue as Mental Health.

Sarah added: "The main reason we are doing this challenge is to raise awareness of mental health issues, to get people talking about it.� One of the main barriers that people with mental health issues face is the stigma attached.�They often feel that they have to hide their illness away, which in turn can make things worse.�So it is important for people to talk about mental health and find out more about the types of mental health problems people have and how they can be helped to overcome them." Sarah and Richard are aiming to raise �1000 for each charity and for both siblings the challenge is something they cannot wait to take on the monumental cycle.

Richard Grayston said: "I have never done a big physical challenge like this before and have always enjoyed cycling so combining the two made sense - and what better reason to do it than for these two charities." If you wish to make a donation to Sarah and Richard's cause please go to: http//www.charitygiving.co.uk/lejog_2012