Story
Phew! It's now late on Monday afternoon (31st August) and we did it! What an adventure, I'm still smiling even if my legs continue to remind me of the last couple of days. There are plenty of details that I will undoubtedly share with you all (and probably bore you with after a while), and it feels good. I am absolutely delighted to have raised well over the target, and think that by the time all the donations have been counted the total will be over £1,000. A very big thank you to everyone who donated, you certainly ensured that our minds were focused on achieving the goal within the 24 hour limit.
As well as the photos of the start, each of the summits and the end, I also have added the actual timings alongside the planned ones at the bottom of this page so that our progress can be tracked - it looks like the planned times were slightly awry in a couple of places though, as we weren't as quick/slow as the difference suggests. Well, that's my story anyway ...
So, off for another bath before back to normality (and I suspect the beginnings of thinkings for the next adventure).
Paul
Hello,
and thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
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It struck me that a great idea for my upcoming birthday would be a challenging stomp. Having sat and thought for a little while, the National Three Peaks challenge (up and down Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon within twenty-four hours – see proposed timings at the end of this email) appeared to fit the bill. Plenty of exercise (about twelve hours of walking), a decent sense of achievement, and something to look back on once it’s all over and my legs have stopped aching.
I contacted a number of potentially like-minded souls to see if anyone else wanted a little walk too, with the result that a couple of fellow stompers (thanks, David and Dan!) have agreed to join me, starting on the morning of Friday 28th August. And, having found a driver too (yes, Kay’s birthday present is to be chauffeur) I began to plan, googling “Three Peaks” in an effort to see just what I was letting myself in for.
During this phase, the possibility of “doing it for charity” arose, and I decided that I would attach a little pressure to the completion of the task by making it a charitable event. I have chosen the Guillian-Barre Syndrome (GBS) support group, as my father was very ill with GBS a few years ago. The syndrome attacks nerve endings and progressively paralyses those affected by it, and seeing a ventilator and gastric feed tube was quite a shock. The support group helps those close to GBS patients cope with the pressures that GBS brings. My modest target (as this is the first time I've tried something like this) is 500 pounds.
More info on Guillian-Barre Syndrome can be found at http://www.gbs.org.uk/
More info on the National Three Peaks Challenge is at http://www.nationalthreepeaks.co.uk/ Many thanks for reading this far, and, I hope, for deciding to contribute. Very best wishes, and maybe it’s not too late to join me …A big Thank You to everyone who is able to sponsor me,
Paul
Here are the anticipated timings for the trip, which will start on Friday 28th August -
I've added the actual times in BOLD RED below so that you can see where things went right/wrong for us!
6am 5.57am touch water at Loch Linnhe - Fort William 6.30am 6.11am start base of Ben Nevis 8.45am 8.21am summit of Ben Nevis 10.30am 9.54am base of Ben Nevis 4pm 4.37pm start base of Scafell Pike 6.45pm 6.24pm summit of Scafell Pike 8.15pm 7.52pm base of Scafell Pike 2.30am 12.39am start base of Snowdon 4.30am 2.15am summit of Snowdon 5.30am 3.49am base of Snowdon 6am 4.18am touch water - CaernarfonPlanned time 24 hours Actual time taken 22 hours 21 minutes - we were 1 hour 39 minutes inside schedule!