Hi, my name is Amelia, I’m 13 years old and tonight my dad and I are taking on an overnight challenge across the Mourne Mountains to raise money for the Northern Ireland Hospice. My dad's team in work at South Eastern Regional College are planning on raising money for the Northern Ireland Hospice over the year.

I wanted to do my bit to help.

I know this is very last minute!

We had originally planned to walk from dusk until dawn, but unfortunately the weather hasn’t been on our side and there is too much rain and wind forecast for Saturday evening.

We really didn’t want to pull out, so we have changed our plans instead. We are going to wait for the worst of the weather to pass and set off at midnight, walking right through the night and into Sunday morning.

We will start at Pigeon Rock and make our way across the Mournes, taking on Pigeon Rock Mountain, Slieve Loughshannagh, Slieve Meelbeg, Slieve Meelmore, Slieve Bearnagh, Slievenaglogh, Slieve Corragh, Slieve Commedagh and finally Slieve Donard, before making the long descent into Newcastle.

That means **9 mountain peaks, through the night, with just our headtorches until the sun comes up!**

I wanted to do this challenge because the Northern Ireland Hospice is very special to my family.

My Granddad is currently receiving palliative care from the Hospice and I wanted to do something for him and to say thank you to the people who are helping to look after him.

Sadly, my Auntie was also cared for by the Northern Ireland Hospice, so our family already knows just how important the care they provide is.

I wanted to do something that would really challenge me and hopefully raise some money to help the Hospice continue to care for other people and their families.

I know there will probably be times during the night when I’m cold, tired and wondering why I thought walking over mountains at 3 o’clock in the morning was a good idea 😂, but I’m going to keep reminding myself why I’m doing it.

I’m doing it for my Granddad, in memory of my Auntie, and for the Northern Ireland Hospice. ❤️

Because we've had to wait on the weather before deciding whether we could safely do the challenge, we are only putting this fundraiser up at the last minute.

So if you see this before we leave, while we're out walking, or even after we've finished, I would be so grateful for any donation, no matter how small.

Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, we’ll watch the sun come up somewhere high in the Mournes before making it over Commedagh and Donard and finally down into Newcastle.

Thank you so much for supporting me and the Northern Ireland Hospice.

Wish us luck! 🥾⛰️🌙❤️

Amelia