A Wishaw hillwalking duo have smashed their fundraising target with a 24-hour challenge to raise money for charity.
Derek Young and John Welsh aimed to conquer Tinto Hill as many times as possible in one day in order to raise cash for the Les Hoey MBE DreamMaker Foundation.
And despite encountering some horrendous weather on the hill, the lads managed to get up and down five times – the equivalent of two and a half times the size of Ben Nevis.
Derek said: “We started on the Friday night and we got the first one done but when we were halfway up the second time the rain started and it didn’t stop.
“We got absolutely soaked. It was a nightmare.
“When we eventually got back down we were straight into the van and had to get changed into dry clothes.
“We were hoping to start at dawn on Saturday but the weather just made it impossible.”
The lads battled through on the Saturday and have raised around £2,000 for the Wishaw-based charity which helps kids with life-limiting illnesses fulfil their dreams.
“I’m really pleased with the amount we raised,” said Derek.
“Overall we have about £1700 but including GiftAid we are around the £2,000 mark.
“I was really chuffed to get to that mark.
“Because of lockdown we hadn’t been able to get out on the hills so I’m looking forward to getting back out there more regularly.
“I think we will probably stay away from Tinto though, I think we are pretty sick of the place!”
Wishaw charity boss Les thanked the lads for the money raised.
He said: “The guys did fantastically well despite the weather conditions which were atrocious for most of the time.
“It was a huge effort from them and a great achievement.
“It was great to see a few people from Wishaw there supporting them.
“I think that must have kept them going.
“We made sure there was plenty of tea, coffee, Mars bars and bananas.”
