Nidderdale 10K

23rd of May 2026.

Cathy has completed the Nidderdale 10K Trail Race, and has been resting up with Heathcliff, and their chicks, Cuthbert, Clara and Kenneth.

With her long legs, enormous bill, and boundless energy, Cathy was a sight to behold - Her familiarity with the terrain and fearless, determined nature, made her a favourite among bird spotters and pundits alike.

The hot weather meant that she was grateful for the breeze as she summitted the moor. Cathy only fell over once, but luckily this did not damage her bill.

Cathy won her class (That's Veteran Waders, if you were unsure), but was disappointed not to receive one of those lovely Curlew-shaped awards.

None-the-less she would like to thank the race organisers, who did an amazing job!

This was just the latest stunt in an effort to raise 10K for local curlew projects taking direct action to save curlew in Nidderdale (funded via the YDMT) and 10K for the charity Curlew Action (campaigning for curlew at a European level)

Heathcliff was planning to take part too - but his toes are still rather sore after the marathon with mountains - the descent from Ingleborough was the final straw for his toenails which are an an interesting shade of blue. So Heathcliff and Kenneth manned a stall selling High Protein Curlew Cup Cakes - packed with delicious Earthworms and topped with crunchy beetles - the perfect recovery snack after a 10k challenge.

...........................................

We completed our 1st challenge.....whoop whoop!

We scaled the Yorkshire 3 Peaks on April the 19th in roughly 10 hours.

This was a team event (see photos in the gallery).

We operated a 'no chick left behind' policy and some our speedier curlews were very patient!

We were met by many supporters along the way, new friends and old, who filled our water bottles and fed us worms.

The group expanded at times to more than 40 people, including a large gang of kids, who summited the mighty Whernside without a grumble.

A smaller group hiked the full 24 miles in homemade costumes, joined by Cathy the Curlew - and the love of her life, Heathcliff.

The aim was to raise awareness about one of the UK's most pressing conservation challenges - the plight of the Eurasian Curlew.

We're now more than halfway to raising more than £10,000 for two fantastic charities. If you can support both causes, by splitting your donation evenly, this would be hugely appreciated.

I'm thrilled to say that £500 worth of your donations will be matched by anonymous private donor- doubling the value....This will give us an enormous boost.

Please feel free to donate small, amounts - whatever you can truly afford. The pennies really do add up! Messages of support also mean a lot. We appreciate everything.

By donating to the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, you will be supporting 'on the ground' projects in Nidderdale, taking direct action to increase breeding success. We're also fund-raising for Curlew Action, an amazing small charity, founded by Mary Colwell, which campaigns for curlews across Europe.

Our target is £10,000 for each charity. That's a single pound for each of the 10,000 extra chicks we need to fledge each year, just to achieve a stable UK population. Or to put it another way, it's a single pound donated from each new follower we attract on social media.

Curlew conservation in the UK today is urgent, complicated, and often controversial. The UK holds around a quarter of the world’s breeding Eurasian Curlews, giving us a global responsibility for their future. Yet their numbers have more than halved in the past 25 years, with some regions losing breeding populations altogether. The causes are multiple and interconnected: intensive farming, wetland drainage, forestry, development, disturbance, climate change, and high levels of predation. Tackling these pressures means addressing some of the biggest issues of our time — how we use land, grow food, and balance human needs with those of wildlife.

The Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge is a demanding 24-mile (38.6 km) circular hike in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, featuring 1,585m of ascent, typically completed over 12 hours. The route covers Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough.

Our Local Nidderdale Curlew Projects fundraise through the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. The money donated to the YDMT will be earmarked for Nidderdale Curlew projects, and will enable us to pay for essential direct action to increase breeding success for curlew on farmland.

Curlew Action is a small, dynamic charity with two big goals: Curlew conservation and nature education,

We're massively inspired by the work of Mary Colwell, author of Curlew Moon and founder of Curlew Action. She's also leading the campaign for a Natural History GSCE. Our challenge took place on the Sunday closest to World Curlew Day, the 21st of April, set up by Mary in 2016.

Get in touch with Matt Trevelyan via WhatsApp on 07745 544 872 if you'd like to report on either the Nidderdale 10K OR our 3 Peaks Curlew Challenge.

We thank you for supporting us.