Husband and wife team travel to 71 trig points around Shropshire
Two Shropshire residents have hung up their walking boots after a 12-month fundraising project to raise money for a lifeline service.
Steve Chisholm and his wife Christine Collen, of Whitchurch Rotary Club, have raised more than £8,300 for the home call system that helps elderly and vulnerable people to summon emergency aid when they need it.
On New Year's Day last year they set off on the Trig Point Challenge – to visit 96 of Shropshire's triangulation stations (trig points)– and after an "amazing" yet challenging experience they finished on December 30.
The couple managed to climb 71 of the trig points – a collection of stone pillars that make it possible to measure and map out the UK landscape – that were first set up in 1936.
Steve Chisholm, from Whitchurch, has been fascinated by the history of the points since he was at school and said: “It has been an interesting year, and one we will never forget.
"We’ve been to remote parts of the county that we otherwise might never have seen and the scenery, for the most part, has been fabulous.
"Although some of the walks were hard, it’s been an amazing experience for so many different reasons and the satisfaction has far outweighed the sore feet and aching legs.”
Tracking down the 96 triangulation stations became a personal challenge for Steve and his wife Christine and while Covid-19 restrictions stopped them reaching all 96 points, five of the stone pillars could not be traced.
The couple were only short of 15 of their target, with many being difficult to find because they were covered by hedges, overgrown by gorse, hidden behind fences or had been moved from their original sites.
The cross country routes have stretched hundreds of miles including the Stiperstones, the Wrekin and Offa’s Dyke.
They follow a trail of local history, from the Cantlin Stone – which marks the 1691 death of a pedlar – to the ‘Nanny Murphy' legend of Mary Yates who walked from her home in Lizard Common to London shortly after the Great Fire of London in 1666.
Since the lifeline service was launched in 1993, the rotary club has put more than 180 units into homes throughout Whitchurch and the surrounding area.
The units connect to telephone lines and enable elderly and vulnerable residents to alert a call centre and summon help in an emergency.
Sponsorship donations to the fundraiser can still be made via whitchurchrotary.org.uk/fundraising/trigpoint-challenge.
