On Thursday, 3 June, 15 intrepid trekkers and a man called Steve set off on a difficult and challenging journey. It'd taken arguments, 37 emails and a meeting to decide the mode of transport and departure time. But they made it to Blackfriars, by Tube, in time to catch the train to Luton airport - mission accomplished!
The CNET 3 Peaks teams also accomplished a minor miracle during the first major leg of their journey - a charter flight that left Luton on time for Glasgow. After a night of luxury, food and fine wine (or, broken sofabeds, crashing out on the floor, a bar that closed on time and a ton of fried starters) the minibus was duly collected and we set off for Fort William. Excitement en route was provided in the form of a shopping trip to Asda and a spontaneous practice run of the emergency 'hold on to the bags' routine when the door of the minibus flew open after a pit stop. Oh, and there was some scenery - couple of lochs, forests, large deer, that kind of thing.
We'd love to say that Ben Nevis rose majestically above us and called to the wild mountaineers within our souls - but sadly, most of Britain's highest mountain was hidden by clouds. Of which more anon. Still, after a bit of hanging around and getting fed up with midges (don't even get us started on the midges) team three was allowed to set off early to tackle the slopes on account of being deeply bored with hanging out at the visitor centre.
Nevis is a big old place. Seriously, 1344 metres up is a long way! As teams two and three plodded steadily up the hill, team one raced along at near light speed. Their plan for the fastest ever ascent of a mountain was slightly hampered by the collapse of a team member with cramp on the summit, but these things are sent to test us. After 1,500 feet we were all in the clouds, scrambling along a path that resembled a misty moonscape at times, and even trekking through snow! To reach the summit was awesome - team chuff, made up of Dom, Eva and Suzie, lit up the Marlboro Lights to celebrate in style!
Descending the mountain, our brave hikers discovered the joy of gravity-assisted impact on the knees - step after step, hour after hour. Ouch. Team three approached the finish line first of all the teams and viewed team one approaching rapidly behind them - much jollity ensued when they broke into a run to try and finish first, causing a member of team one (who some say is the most competitive man in the world) to attempt a shortcut. Sadly, but to the amusement of all onlookers, the shortcut involved a bog, falling over, and some dark brown mud.
After a battle of epic proportions to rid the minibus of midges, and some dodgy chips in Fort William, the journey to Scafell Pike was underway. Sleeping in a minibus isn't easy at the best of times - and this truly was not the best of times. Knackered, stiff and smelly, we rolled into the car park at Scafell around 6am, ate (again), pulled waterproofs on (again) and set off up a hill (again). And what a long, slow, slippery, cloudy, rainy hill it was. The summit cruelly evaded us for what felt like hours - just as it seemed to be approaching, another section of the hill emerged from the mist. But we made it! By lunchtime all were back down, and ready to set off for Wales.
Cue more squashed, smelly and slightly damp hours in minibus.
Arriving at the campsite in Nant Peris to discover our tents and bags had been safely dropped off was truly a joy. Watching a bunch of Londoners putting up tents in a field was a joy for the over-equipped Army team in the next section of the campsite. I ask you - what exactly is so funny about having to check the instructions for what to do with the tent pegs? And then there's the guy ropes...
Several very welcome hot showers later, we hit the pub - in moderation, our sponsors will be pleased to hear - for some more carbo-intaking. A sensibly early night followed, ready for an early ascent up Wales' finest. Snowdon was indeed a 'walk in the (quite hilly) park' compared to the previous two. Injury prevented some team members from ascending, but being good sports, they took the train to the (you guessed it... submerged in cloud) summit. Where indeed it was freezing! Cups of tea in the cafe went down a treat - except for the members of team one, who of course dashed straight back down to achieve a very respectable fourth-place finish out of the 28 teams taking part.
Celebrations ensued (after more hot showers) when all the teams had finished the third peak, and completed the challenge. Want details of the taxpayer-funded barbecue, copious amounts of alcohol, 3 Peaks pool tournament, more bloody midges, water shortages (and dodgy buckets), glow-rugby, late nights and hangovers in the world's hottest minibus on the way back to London? Contact your local 3-Peaker for more information...
Raised:
89%
Raised so far: £7,151.60
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Donation by Vanessa Pearce on 02/09/04 |
£127.00 + £35.82 Gift Aid |
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Well done Ness! Donation by Martin Cull on 20/07/04 |
£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid |
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Feels good to be able to say "I done it" :) Donation by Eva Bundy on 07/07/04 |
£247.00 + £69.67 Gift Aid |
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Congrats Ann! Sorry I took so long! Donation by Hayley Hardwick on 06/07/04 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Many thanks to my sponsors - Laura Donation by Anonymous on 30/06/04 |
£220.00 + £62.05 Gift Aid |
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We love you! Can we have our flag back! Donation by Roderick Banner on 28/06/04 |
£250.00 + £70.51 Gift Aid |
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Kitty and Andrew Shoolbread! Donation by Lucy Holliday on 25/06/04 |
£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid |
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For the girl Hall...Congratulations! Donation by Jim Quinton on 17/06/04 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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You did it Suzie... London Marathon next?!!! Donation by Jo Rundle on 16/06/04 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Kitty! Donation by Susan Rundle on 15/06/04 |
£61.20 + £17.26 Gift Aid |
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Thank you CNET! Donation by Lucy Holliday on 15/06/04 |
£392.40 + £110.68 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Anonymous on 15/06/04 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Well done Annie! Donation by Julia Pidgeon on 14/06/04 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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well done girls you rocks Donation by steve jones on 14/06/04 |
£60.00 + £16.92 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Alan Dadswell on 09/06/04 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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well done andy Donation by roisin booth on 09/06/04 |
£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid |
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Andy, Jo and Tony - rather you than me ;-) Well done. Sat Donation by Satyen Dayal on 09/06/04 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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Congrats on making it! Donation by Michael Toedman on 08/06/04 |
£100.00 + £28.21 Gift Aid |
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Donation by Kath Pooley on 08/06/04 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Good luck again! Rene Donation by Rene Hubbard on 08/06/04 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Good Luck Judith from Rene Hubbard Donation by B Fitzpatrick on 06/06/04 |
£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid |
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Go Judith! Donation by Rachel Proud on 06/06/04 |
£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid |
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Good Luck Annie! From Jo xx Donation by Joanna McKnight on 04/06/04 |
£30.00 |
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Donation also the one above - ticked to hide name but wanted to say "Go, go, Suzie" and a bit more! Donation by Rosemary Rundle on 03/06/04 |
£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid |
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I'm sure all the training (!!??) will not be in vain. Go Suzie Donation by Anonymous on 03/06/04 |
£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid |
| * Total raised online: | £4,378.60 |
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| Offline donations: | £2,773.00 |
| Mobile donations: | £0.00 |
| Total Raised: | £7,151.60 |
| Gift Aid plus supplement: | £1,170.12 |
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