On 18th September, I’ll be joining a group of complete strangers to climb Mount Kenya and raise money for The Chiltern Centre– a absolutley brilliant local charity supporting young adults with disabilities and their families.

At over 5,000 metres, this isn’t exactly a gentle stroll with a nice pub at the end. There will be long days, steep climbs, altitude, questionable personal hygiene and, I suspect, several moments where I wonder why on earth I thought this was a good idea.

And, because my ADHD brain apparently looked at my already fairly full life and thought “You know what this needs? A mountain”, I’ve signed myself up.

There is a serious reason behind the madness, though.

The Chiltern Centre provides vital support, opportunities and respite for young adults with disabilities, while giving their families something equally important: the reassurance that the person they love is somewhere they are understood, supported and able to thrive.

So yes, climbing a 5,000m mountain is going to test my determination, resilience and ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other when my brain has completely lost interest in the original plan, but it’s also an opportunity to do something properly challenging for a cause that really matters.

Every donation – genuinely, however big or small – will help The Chiltern Centre continue the work they do. And, on a more selfish note, knowing people have sponsored me will make it significantly harder for me to decide halfway up that actually I’ve had enough and would quite like to go home.

So please donate if you can, share the page if you can’t, and feel free to remind me over the next few weeks that I chose to do this.

Thank you ❤️

Mount Kenya, here we come. ⛰️