A group of marathon hill walkers from Shropshire had their weekend charity attempt curtailed by severe weather, but still claimed the adventure a great success and also managed to raise around £4,000 for a cause very close to all of them.
Motorcyclist Conner Parry (19), of Bayston Hill, was paralysed from the chest down in a moto-cross accident earlier this year, so his mum Cindy and a group of his friends from Shrewsbury decided to tackle The Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for specialist rehabilitation equipment and after care for Connor.
The challenge consists of climbing the UK’s three highest peaks within 24 hours, starting with Ben Nevis in Scotland at 4413 feet, then Scafell Pike in the Lake District of Cumbria at 3209 feet and finally Mount Snowdon in Wales at 3560 feet.
Forming the team were Cindy, who works at Rybrook BMW of Shrewsbury, and her friend Naomi Cook, aged 26, together with Will Lewis, aged 20, Vini Crighton-Poli, aged 19 and Will Platt, aged 19.
Cindy, said: “We started off at a cracking pace, conquering Ben Nevis in fine style, but the weather had turned by the time we arrived to tackle Scafell Pike, where heavy rain had flooded streams to chest height, as opposed to being ankle deep in normal conditions, and Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team strongly advised us not to attempt to climb the mountain due to safety concerns as they were already involved in another rescue incident with other hill walkers.
“We had no choice but to heed their warnings and abandon that section of the challenge, heading off straight away for an early morning ascent of Snowdon.
“The whole team was very disappointed, but we still had a fantastic time together even though it really is a very tough challenge – but it’s also very rewarding and we have all vowed to take have another go in the future.
“Our thanks must go to sponsors ABP Meats and to Rybrook head of business Gareth Thomas, who provided our driver Callum Dodd and a large vehicle to transport us between venues and has also sourced a specially adapted BMW One Series car for Conner.”
Further information on Conner and donations towards the team’s efforts can be made at www.gofundme.com/connerparry
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