As some of my family and friends know, my partner Michele and I are presently adventuring our way around Scotland climbing the Munros. We currently have 28 remaining out of a total of 282.

Whilst wandering the wilds of Scotland we came up with the idea of going further afield to attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. After doing our research we realised the scale of the challenge being the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing in the world at 5895 m above sea level. That's almost 4 times the height of Ben Nevis and it's way beyond anything we have tackled up until now.

We are looking forward to the climb but are apprehensive about the impacts of the altitude especially at my tender age!

The friends who are aware of our plans asked if we were doing this as a fundraiser. After giving this some thought I have decided to use the opportunity to raise funds for 2 charities that are close to my heart, The Highland Hospice and Inverness Ice Centre.

These charities would welcome your support and I would also be very thankful for any support given too.