Doing summit special in aid of Maggie’s

Adventurous supporters of Maggie’s Lanarkshire raised more than £20,000 for the cancer caring charity by tackling a trio of the county’s highest hills.

The group of 23 walkers and two cyclists reached the summits of 711-metre Tinto Hill, 732m Green Lowther and 748m Culter Fell in the same day in the “Scottish three peaks challenge”.

It is now set to become an annual event after the success of the initial challenge, which saw the group cover a combined total distance equivalent to one-and-a-half times the height of Ben Nevis – and then celebrate with a pie and pint pitstop following the event.

The triple challenge was organised by fundraising board member and keen munro bagger Gavin Whitefield, who wanted to share his love of the hills in

support of the Lanarkshire charity.

He said: “A lot of what Maggie’s do involves supporting people affected by cancer to make healthy choices and live well with and beyond cancer, so a walking event seemed like a really positive way of giving support.

“I took part with my daughters and we had a truly memorable day out; and I was delighted with the success of this event in its first year.”

Mountain bike enthusiast Dougie Thomas decided to take part on his e-bike and said: “Whenever the going got tough, I reminded myself of the very generous support which my friends and family had shown through their sponsorship and the knowledge that every pedal I made would be making a real difference to people affected by cancer.

“Although I’d been training hard, I was nervous that I would complete the challenge, so the celebratory pint at the last stop was most welcome!”

Centre fundraising manager Heather Mcarthur called the sun-soaked fundraiser “a fabulous event from start to finish” and said the charity hopes it will be the “first of many” similar hillwalks.

She said: “We’re incredibly grateful to those who took part and we can’t wait to see this grow into an annual event.

“The camaraderie amongst those taking part was palpable; there are few better things to see than people challenging themselves to succeed, putting in the training and reaping the reward of supporting an incredible charity.”

Maggie’s Lanarkshire, based in the grounds of Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, provides practical, social and emotional support for people with cancer and their loved ones.

Email lanarkshirefundraising@ maggiescentres.org or call 01236 771191 for more information on the charity and supporting its work.

Peak performers The group of 23 walkers and two cyclists took part in the “Scottish three peaks challenge”