On Saturday 7th September a group of us who work in Mental Health teams based in Ards Hospital are setting out to complete the Mourne Wall Challenge in one day. This challenge involves a 21 mile hike of over 3,000m ascent, circumnavigating 15 peaks of the Mourne mountains. We have set this challenge to raise funds for our local Action Mental Health New Horizons branch.

Our team taking on the Challenge includes Ann, Mark, Del, Rob, Reuben & Rachael.

We have seen the difference Action Mental Health New Horizons makes in peoples lives, and we want more people to have the opportunity to benefit from this service.

People experiencing mental ill health are identified as one of the most disadvantaged groups when securing and retaining employment. AMH New Horizons aims to help individuals access employment and further education/training opportunities whilst enhancing social inclusion and building skills.

Help us make a difference!

Any donations and support greatly appreciated.

Update 1: Sat 10th August training hike

Mark and Reuben headed into the southern area of the Mournes to scout out this less familiar section of 'The Wall'. Close to 10 miles under the belt, and a few peaks summitted along the way including the aptly named Slieve Muck. Enjoyed a day of fair weather and some tokens of geographical knowledge from Mark regarding igneous rock and dinosaur-period fern fronds! Great day out on the hills with a few more planned before the 'big day' 😎

Update 2 : Friday 16th August

Del and Rob ventured out to tackle a couple of the biggies today including Commedagh and Bearnagh

Update 3: Mon 26th + Fri 30th Aug

A couple more practise hikes under the belt before the main event next Saturday 7th Sep. Many thanks for all the support thus far!

FINAL UPDATE - WE DID IT 🥳 Sat 07.09.24

After 17 and a half hours of hiking on a hot summers day over 15 mountains, taking in 10 thousand feet of ascent and 21 miles of hiking, we finally completed the Mourne Wall Challenge. It was not without its challenges between the heat, an odd ankle twist, a tumble, losing a boot in a swamp, and navigating the last mountain in the dark, but we made it in the end after a lengthy but very memorable day. Special shout out to Briana who has been constantly plugging this event in various mediums and also to Aoife and Abi who hiked Binnian to meet us with much appreciated sugary snacks. Fantastic effort made by all of the team, incredible resilience and a positive team spirit was required to keep pushing on throughout this hefty challenge. We are so thankful for all of the support provided, with the fundraiser hitting the 2k mark today.

We will leave the fundraising link open for the next couple weeksif anyone still wishes to donate - thanks again and hopefully you can get a taste of some of the experience from the photos below.