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For over 16 years, Helen and Douglas House have been Berkeley Homes (Oxford and Chiltern) designated charity and we are committed to continuing our support throughout 2015 by fundraising and raising more awareness across the region, of the incredible work that the people of Helen and Douglas House do. Helen and Douglas House provide first class care to not only the children and young adults in this hospice but to their families who visit as well. They really are some of earth’s angels!

All monies raised by Berkeley Homes (Oxford & Chiltern) are focused on enabling Helen and Douglas House to continue to fund the Play area. The play area provides play therapy for the children that stay with this hospice and where specialists can work with children on a 1-2-1 basis, promoting problem solving skills, hand, eye and motor coordination whilst encouraging verbal and non-verbal communication.

This year, Berkeley Homes (Oxford & Chiltern) are set to take on one of the UKs toughest challenges, The National Three Peaks...in 24 hours. Here's our Story:

Decision time: Thursday 12th March 2015 - We're doing the National Three Peaks on 12th September 2015!

23 people across our division and a representative from Helen and Douglas House have signed up. This is our team:

1.       Gemma Case (Health and Safety Administrator& Berkeley Foundation Representative

2.      Stuart Hosegood (Head of Health and Safety)

3.      Rob Chorley (Commercial Director)

4.      James Allen (Site Manager)

5.      Kelly Herring (Design & Specification)

6.      Charlotte Kimber (Customer Service Coordinator)

7.      Debbie Walsh (Customer Relations Manager)

8.      Lara Thomas (Customer Relations Manager)

9.      Kimberley Silk (PA to Chairman)

10.  Dominique Dron (Marketing Coordinator)

11.  Amy Probert (Senior Accounts Assistant)

12.  Simon Martin (Management Accountant)

13.  Simon Abreu (Technical Manager)

14.  Rafal Chodkowski (Development Engineer)

15.  Caroline McHardy (Land Manager)

16.  Andrew West (Technical Manager)

17.  Shane Weir (Technical Manager)

18.  Bruce Lawton (Technical Director)

19.  Alex Burrows (Architectural Assistant)

20.  Nick Bliss (Architectural Technician)

21.  Lois Goodchild (Accounts Administrator)

22.  Ian Saunderson (Management Accountant)

23.  Doug Fearon (Architectural Technician)

24.  Hugh Thompson (Head of High Value Partnerships, Helen and Douglas House)

Experiences range from active hikers to no experience at all.

Training Day 1 - Saturday 25th April 2015, The Seven Sisters, Beachy Head and South Downs Way. 14.5 miles: What an amazing day and what a team! Everyone met up early morning (after a 2+ hour drive) in high spirits and motivated to get going. Hiking up the Seven Sisters was a surprise for everyone... no one anticipated how high, steep and hard these cliff were...particularly to those with no walking experience and lack of fitness.. It certainly brought home the magnitude of what we are going to attempt in September. After 6 miles and the Seven Sisters accomplished, we headed on towards Beachy Head, battling against the wind, rain and dense fog. Stopping for lunch, everyone was beginning to feel the effects, some suffering from cramping, some feeling nauseous and some suffering from pre-existing injuries, however, spirits were still high and determination spurred us all on as a team. A few miles later, the weather cleared and the sun came out, exposing the stunning views and scenic walk still ahead of us. Although, some began to increasingly suffer the effects, the positive mental attitude and encouragement from the team members towards each other was outstanding. For many of the team members, this was the furthest they had ever walked before and although weary and in pain, continued on towards our finish point. Just as we thought the end was in sight... another ascent up steps! The laughter, giggles, belly laughs, encouragement, support and patience carried us all up, over the wall and down the hill, reaching our destination. Training day 1 complete and what an achievement for us all already! Well done everyone! Amazing team! Gemma Case, Event Organiser and Berkeley Foundation Representative.

Training Day 2 - Saturday 23rd May 2015, Brecon Beacons, Wales

Wow that was Hard!!!

After a 2 hour drive over the Border to Wales, we arrived, surrounded by mountains thinking ‘there’s no way I’ll be able to climb that …’

The Sun was beaming, and we had a strong team of us to keep our spirits high – so the atmosphere was buzzing considering the harsh reality of our 12.6 mile trek we had ahead of us.

Off we set, sun lotion at the ready and Stuart wasn’t fibbing when he said this one was going to be harder than The Seven Sisters…!

The first hurdle was an eye opener, this wasn’t going to be all fun and laughter. The incline on our first mile was much steeper than any of the Seven hills we climbed last month …! A few miles down and we hit some level ground, which meant we took some time to appreciate the surrounding views- absolutely stunning to say the least. The conversation picked up again at this point with all sorts of banter flowing around the team – this experience is definitely giving me an opportunity to grow closer to my colleagues. 4 hours in and the view ahead was exhausting… heat hits harder than you think when you’re that high up, and the toilet situation was becoming a problem….! In the distance we could see the final Mountain peak, although it didn’t look so hard, so we decided to have lunch at the very top – WHOS SILLY IDEA WAS THAT!!! It was by far THE most challenging thing I have EVER done. A 40 minute stretch reaching 3000 ft. – my little legs almost gave up on me, and I honestly could have cried and one point. Seeing the army lads walking past me with double the weight on their shoulders kind of pushed me to man up a little!

One by one we all arrived at the top and what a relief it was for each and every one of us! Lunch time to refuel and prepare for the decent.

The final few miles back to the car where grilling, but if it wasn’t for the silly chats and team spirit, not sure we would have done it!

6 hours later, Sun Burnt, filled with blisters, and feeling grim, We FINALLY arrived back. A well-deserved drink at the pub was heaven – GREAT EFFORT TEAM Thanks for helping me complete my biggest endurance achievement to date. Debbi Walsh, Customer Relations Manager

Training Day 3 – Friday 19th – Sunday 21st June 2015, Snowdonia, Wales

Once again we were back in Wales, this time in the far north. Kelly and I arrived first and headed straight out to find the nearest bar, where we were saved from the locals by Stuart and James. While we were enjoying the local beers-we spared a thought for Gemma and Rob stuck on the motorway.

Saturday after a hearty breakfast we left with excitement to our first challenge, Tryfan Mountain Range. The laughter soon changed to hysterics when we started scrambling up the mountain side. This was more rock climbing than walking; thankfully James and Stuart were on hand when my legs were just too short to reach another foothold. The laughter began again when we realised that we had climbed too high from the path, so now the bum came in handy, sliding all the way down to the path, hanging on to the bushes for dear life, the phrase “I’m giving birth to a bush” made us stop in our tracks. Finally after what seemed like hours, we had reached the top, we then climbed over the stile to the south side of the mountain and we were met with a howling gale- This Mountain was not letting us have an easy ride. At the bottom we were met with a beautiful lake where we decided to have lunch, we then ascended to the next mountain, more scrambling! We even came down through a waterfall, Rob lost his walking poles and sent poor Gemma in to fish them out. Then the cars were in sight… I all of a sudden had the energy to run to the car, leaving James and Kelly behind!! Then it was to the pub at the bottom of Snowdon to see what we were going to be facing on Sunday…. I recall some silly person thought we could start Snowdon that evening!! After a few more pints this idea soon went out the window.

Before we knew it, it was Sunday morning and there we were standing at the bottom of Snowdon. Off we headed on an almost jogging pace up the huge ascent to the summit, we had to try and get there in 2hours 30 minutes. There was a so called “path” but this involved many big rocks that had to be climbed over and after Saturday my legs were burning from the start. As we headed closer to the summit we had to change into our wind breakers and woolly hats. As we turned the corner, we could have been in Antarctica for all I knew, the wind was howling, you couldn’t see 2 metres in front of you and the rain/sleet/snow was hindering our path. But we made it in 2hours 15 minutes, after a few photos it was back down the mountain, No rest for the wicked! Stuart, Kelly, James and I went back down a different track then Gemma and Rob- was this a race I didn’t know about! If I thought the ascent was steep I was not prepared for the steepness of the descent. There were groups of “3-peakers” running down to try and get there in time, all I could think was that will be me in 83 days!! Finally there was some flat path to enjoy, Stuart assured me that the car park was “just around the corner” little did I know that the corner was about 3 miles away! Finally I reached the car and was told I could now walk the 200m to the café to get a cup of tea, but not even a promise of a sausage roll could tear me away from the seat of the car.

Even after the extreme torture of these 3 mountains, I still have a smile on my face! I faced many fears and challenges this week and it was only a training weekend….. What has the 3 Peak Challenge got in store for us J!! Charlotte Kimber, Customer Service Coordinator