An intrepid band of locals are set to attempt a massive challenge in a bid to raise vital charity cash.
Stuart Caskie is part of a team hoping to tackle the Three Peaks Challenge over a 24 hour period.
They will kick off at Ben Nevis at 5pm on Saturday before journeying to scale the Lake District’s Scafell Pike.
The final leg will see them travel to Mount Snowdon in Wales to complete the gruelling challenge.
Renewables engineer Stuart told the Standard: “We are starting off at Ben Nevis, although we have already had a severe weather warning, at 5pm on Saturday.
“It’s going to be some graft but we have already raised £5,000 for charity.”
The group, including Ellie Copeland, Emily Burley, Marie Nicol, Angela Stairmand and Shonagh Cunliffe, are each taking part to raise funds for a charity of their choice.
Organisations set to benefit include the Scottish Association for Mental Health, Parkinson’s UK, Macmillan Cancer Support and the Pink Ribbon Foundation.
Stuart, of Heathhall, will take part for mental health charity Back on Side - who helped him through his own post-lockdown struggles.
He said: “I was struggling just after lockdown and around Christmas. During lockdown nobody had any release and I think everybody, myself included, was struggling a bit.
“I found it tough just after Christmas and in January I was almost at the point of having a mental breakdown.
“I started to worry my parents and everybody round about me. A lot of people noticed, everything just kind of caught up with me and I bottled it up. The people who were there for me at my lowest really, really helped me, especially Back on Side.”
He took up hillwalking as a release, but admits that it may not have been his first choice.
He added: “When I started hillwalking, I didn’t enjoy it, it was just something to concentrate on and stop my mind playing tricks on me but after two or three times, I started to enjoy it.”
However, this marks the greatest challenge the 34-year-old has undertaken in his hillwalking career so far.
He added: “It’s going to be some graft. We’ve got a Royal Marine on the team who is helping us with discipline and teamwork, we have a policeman who does a lot of hillwalking and he has planned our routes and stuff and we’ve got Jack, our driver, who has been planning the journey for us and thinking about keeping us all in snacks.
To donate to the team, visit their JustGiving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/team/nationalthreepeakschallenge
