Elspeth Beard

Elspeth Beard is an architect and motorcyclist, who is noted for being the first English woman to ride a motorcycle around the world. Later on, she redesigned Munstead Tower in Godalming, winning the 1994 Royal Institute of British Architects award for South East England. Beard now owns an architectural firm based in a converted stable in Godalming.

Beard learnt to ride a motorbike on Salisbury Plain at the age of 16. She began her round the world journey in 1982, after the third year of her architect training course, using a BMW R60/6 motorcycle. She began her journey in New York City, having shipped the bike from the United Kingdom. From there, she cycled to Canada, Mexico and Los Angeles before shipping her bike to Sydney. In Sydney, she spent eleven months working as an architect, before cycling across Australia. In Townsville, Queensland, she had an accident which left her hospitalised for two weeks. After Australia, she travelled to Singapore, after which she travelled into Asia. In Thailand, she collided with a dog, and recuperated staying with a local family; the family fed her the remains of the dog that she had crashed into. Beard forged the necessary permit to get out of the Punjab region, and travelled into Pakistan, before riding back into Europe via Turkey. She arrived back in the United Kingdom in 1984, having travelled 48,000 miles (77,000 km); in doing so, she became the first Englishwoman to motorcycle around the world.

After her motorcycling feat, Beard bought the derelict Munstead Tower in Godalming, a 130 feet (40 m) tower built in 1898. Over the course of five years, she renovated it, converting the former water-tower into a habitable house. The renovated tower was featured on a 1995 episode of Homefront, and in 1994, the tower won the Royal Institute of British Architects award for South East England.