5th May 2026

🏍The Fostering 400 biker tour returns!🏍

After the success of last year’s tour, the bikers will be back on the roads for a whistlestop tour of Northern Ireland, as part of our Foster Care Fortnight celebrations.

Our team of bikers, many of whom are foster carers, will be championing HSC NI Foster Care and aiming to raise awareness of the urgent need for at least 400 additional foster carers to support children and young people who require foster care.

The tour will kick-off in Belfast at 8:30am on Saturday 16 May. Throughout the day, the bikers will visit five locations, one in each HSC Trust area, where they will meet members of the public, fostering staff, fellow foster carers, and local supporters.

Gareth Irvine, an HSC NI foster carer who is leading the biker tour, said: “I’m passionate about fostering and raising awareness of the need for more foster carers right across Northern Ireland. This tour is a great opportunity to meet people face‑to‑face, answer questions, and share honest experiences of what fostering really involves.”

A big thank you to Gareth and all our bikers for being fostering champions and helping us to encourage more people to kickstart their fostering journey.

Join us at one of our five locations on Saturday 16 May to find out more about fostering!

 

Biker Tour Schedule 2026:

Area	Stop	Time
Belfast area	2 Royal Avenue, Belfast, BT1 1DA	Bikers arrive: 8:30am | Leaving: 9:00am
South Eastern area	Island Civic Centre, Lisburn, BT27 4RL	Bikers arrive: 9:35am | Leaving 10:20am
Northern area	Ballymena Bandstand, Town Centre	Bikers arrive: 11:30am | Leaving 12:15pm
Western area	The Diamond, Enniskillen Town Centre	Bikers arrive: 2:45pm | Leaving 3:30pm
Southern area	Palace Stables, Armagh, BT60 4EL	Bikers arrive: 4:45pm