Three Peaks climbers raise £15,000 for charity
A team of six family and friends have raised nearly £15,000 for charity after scaling the three highest mountains in the UK in under 24 hours.
The group, made up of brothers Ed and Tom Graham, Alexandra Graham, Charlotte Barford, Will Cox, and Ross and Alexander Bland, completed the gruelling feat of hiking up and down Ben Nevis in Fort William, Scotland, Scafell Pike in the Lake District and Snowdon in Wales with just nine minutes to spare.
Finishing in 23 hours and 51 minutes, they were raising money for Parkinson's UK, with Ed and Tom Graham having been inspired to support the charity because of a family member affected by the disease.
The team of mountaineers have so far raised £14,980, and Tom said the support has been second-to-none, especially as a number of donations were from anonymous supporters.
He said: "We broke through the £10,000 mark the day we completed the challenge.
"It was a wonderful boost to see this news just as we were about to start the Snowdon climb, the last of the three peaks.
"We are extremely grateful to everyone who has sponsored us. We have tried to thank them all personally, however there were a number of anonymous donations, so thank you also to those people."
The group were able to take some stunning photographs of the scenery during the challenge. Tom added the weather held out for most of the challenge, before suffering a downpour at the foot of Snowdon during the early hours of the morning.
"We were lucky with the weather for Ben Nevis, which was generally clear but with fog and drizzle near the summit," he said.
"Scafell was similar but 50mph winds at the top made it more of a challenge.
"Snowdon's conditions were as to be expected from Wales, with heavy rain throughout, which made the 2.50am start even less appealing."
The Parkinson’s UK fundraising team for Birmingham and the Black Country has voiced its support for the group’s efforts, congratulating them on surpassing their £10,000 target.
A post on the group’s Facebook page said: “Well – they did it and completed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in less than 24 hours – what an achievement!
"Not only that – but they have surpassed their target and have raised over a staggering £14,100 (still counting)!”
Anyone who wishes to support the cause can do so by visiting justgiving.com/fundraising/thomas-graham10
