Many of you will have known Margaret, who lost her battle against breast cancer at the end of last year.  For those who didn’t know this wonderful woman, her infectious sense of humour, her willingness to help everyone and the brave way she dealt with all aspects of her illness, were quite simply an inspiration to everyone.

Margaret loved walking and a few years ago she completed a long-held ambition to climb all the Lake District peaks over 2,500’.  So it seemed right that I should exchange the bike for walking boots and take on the challenge of climbing every peak in Alfred Wainwright’s famous guide books – 214 in all, involving over 420 miles of walking and over 130,000 feet of climbing – the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest nearly 5 times – and to complete the task in under two months. 

Starting with Great Mell Fell on 9 March, I finished the challenge on 2 May on Loughrigg Fell - it was a superb day and I was joined by nearly thirty friends, nearly all of whom knew Margaret well. During the challenge Mike did 136 of the 214 tops with me, and his son Trevor, plus two grandchildren - Harry and James - were also there at the finish.  As an unexpected bonus the round of 55 days now looks like being a record for an 'ordinary' fell walker to do all the Wainwrights!

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