One Week To Go!

The Weekend Picture No. 50

In exactly one week's time My Lovely Wife and I will be climbing 24 peaks in the Lake District in exactly 24 hours in order to raise money for Caring Matters Now. We signed up for this challenge over a year ago and have been training for it since last September.

And it's nearly here!

There are two possible reactions to this. You can either shrug your shoulders and just get on with it.

Or you can panic, ask your mum for a sick note and hide under the duvet.

I am tempted to opt for the latter. However, my Mum has chosen this weekend as the weekend when she MUST take a week away in Wales - so the sick note is out of the question.

I guess we need to just get on with it.

So, on Friday afternoon we will be piling into the car and heading north to Hawkshead in the Lake District where we will meet the rest of the team, be briefed and try to sleep before embarking on the challenge.

Over the following weekend we will ascend a total of 13,986 feet and walk for two 12 hour stretches. We have both put in a lot of training. However, to be frank, we have no idea what we are letting ourselves in for!

The money we raise will be going to support the work of this fantastic little charity that is so close to our hearts. You can find out more about their work here. The team we are going with have already raised enough to pay for a Research Assistant to look into possible treatments for the condition and it is great to know that every penny raised will be of value. Thankyou to all those of you who have already sponsored us. If you have not yet done so - and would like to - then you can click here to visit our Just Giving page.

Thankyou.

Speak soon

JH

Training in the Spring Snow

The Weekend Picture No. 41

The Peak District in the Spring

In 2 months and 8 days time The Lovely Wife and I will be lacing up our walking boots for the 24 peaks in 24 hours charity challenge in the Lake District in order to raise money for Caring Matters Now.

Caring Matters Now is a charity which works with children with a rare skin syndrome called Congenital Melanocytic Naevi or CMN.CMNs are large birthmarks which can cover up to 80% of a child's body. In addition to the obvious cosmetic impacts CMNs can also cause developmental delays and present a slightly raised risk of skin cancer.

Caring Matters Now works to support those with CMN, raise funds for research and raise awareness of the condition. It is a small charity that makes good use of every penny. It has done a huge amount for E, our youngest, and because of that we have decided to pack blister plasters and a stash of Kendall Mint Cake for an assault on some of the Lake District's most awesome peaks (Scafell Pike anyone?)

In preparation we are taking every opportunity that presents itself to walk up things. Next week we are walking the Thames tow path (distance for stamina) and then the Surrey Hills (more hills!). This past week we have been in the snowy wasteland that is the Peak District in the Spring. We spent Thursday walking 13 miles on the Kinder Scout Plateau in the Peaks and sinking thigh deep in snow drifts whilst avoiding slipping off the ridge path to a grisly end. This weekend's picture was taken just before we joined the ridge path - hence the smile.

Friday was an easier walk of (only) 8 miles from Hathersage in Derbyshire to an amazing pub called "The Barrel at Bretton" It stands atop one of the peaks with it's own panoramic view of some of the best scenery the UK can offer. The picture below is a valley we crossed en route to the pub.

Abney, Derbyshire

We have now hit our fundraising target - for which we are hugely grateful - THANKYOU! - however, we are still taking sponsorship and would love to break the £2,000 barrier. So, if you would like to sponsor us please visit our JustGiving page which you can get to by the button on the top left of the page or by clicking here.

Speak soon
JH

PS Only 4 days left to nominate for the BIBs blogging awards. I have put myself forward for 2 categories - please click on the badges to nominate or you can click here. Thankyou.

PPS - This blog is 1 year old on Wednesday (!!) Watch this space.

The Weekend Picture No. 24

In training for 24 peaks in 24 hours

As you know from my last post, my lovely wife and I are now in training for a major charity challenge. In June of next year we will be climbing 24 Lake District peaks in 24 hours in an effort to raise a lot of money (at least £1500 to be precise) for Caring Matters Now - the amazing charity that seeks to support families of children with CMN.

We leave in a beautiful county and have used our training sessions as an excuse to explore even more of it.

This weekend we visited Hascombe Hill (it has a peak!) and explored the iron age fort at it's summit.

We brought the kids along as well.

In this weekend's picture E is showing her brother and sister just how far Mum and Dad will have to walk next summer.

You can sponsor us by visiting this page.

Speak soon
JH

The Weekend Picture No. 23

2 miles to go!

My lovely wife and I are raising money for a charity called Caring Matters Now.

Caring Matters Now is an organisation that works with people with a rare skin condition called Congenital Melanocytic Naevus or CMN. CMNs are large birthmarks which can cover up to 80% of a child's body. In addition to the obvious cosmetic impacts CMNs can also cause developmental delays and present a slightly raised risk of skin cancer.

Caring Matters Now works to support those with CMN, raise funds for research and raise awareness of the condition. It is a small charity that makes good use of every penny that it receives.

Our youngest was born with CMN and has gained so much from the input of this fantastic charity - such as the family weekend we attended last month.

As a result we have decided to take part in a challenge called "24 peaks in 24 hours" next June. This will involve scaling 24 Lake District peaks over the midsummer weekend - including Scarfell Peak.

We signed up a couple of months ago and have since reluctantly started training by scaling Surrey's mountains. We went for it yesterday - catching the train to Dorking and then walking the North Downs Way to Chilworth through the rain.

How did we feel afterwards?

Knackered and with legs like jelly.

We need a lot more training.

If you'd like to sponsor us please find out more by visiting my Just Giving page on the right hand side of the page or at the bottom of this post. More walking updates to come.

Speak soon
JH

The Weekend Picture No.20

Cap'n E - ready for the Great Raft Race

We have just come back from a great weekend away with lots of new friends at the PGL Centre at Boreatton Park in Shropshire.

We were spending the weekend with the charity Caring Matters Now which works to support children with a rare condition called Congenital Melanocytic Naevus and raise funds for research into the condition. Our youngest has CMN and she had a great time over the weekend getting to know other boys and girls who have it too.

We built and raced rafts, abseiled impossibly high walls, swung on giant swings, practised archery and quad bike racing and got to know lots of really nice people.

We are looking forward to the next one.

Speak soon
JH

PS As part of our support for Caring Matters Now my lovely wife and I are about to embark upon a gruelling charity challenge - more information to come later this week.