In the summer this year, the Havoc Youth Group decided to climb Scafell Pike, the highest peak in England. They raised a wonderful £765.28 for CRY in their second year of fundraising for the charity.
“Year two of the Havoc youth group charity fundraisers and we opted for another mountain climb! Having completed – and enjoyed – a walk to the summit of Snowdon last year, we decided to tackle the highest peak in England this summer. Several of us had never been to Scafell Pike before, and so we were excited to have a go.
We were meeting the minibus at 4.45pm – a pretty early start for a bunch of teenagers on their summer holidays! But we had eight young people able and willing, who all seemed very enthusiastic when they arrived.
For most of us, the long journey up to Cumbria was a chance to get a bit more sleep, plus we had a quick stop to grab a healthy breakfast at McDonald’s! From there we headed straight to the Lake District.
When we arrived it was quiet (until we got out of the bus, of course!) and the weather was cloudy and cool. This was perfect for us, and we were soon on our way up. The route we were taking is known as ‘The Corridor’, a scenic and winding route up one side of the mountain and down another.
We had great views most of the way, and we were able to spot other local peaks such as Great Gable. It was only just before the summit that we got into the clouds. Everyone made it to the top without a problem, and we took plenty of pictures to prove it! We didn’t stop for long though as it was getting cold and starting to rain; but everyone was still very cheerful.
Coming down was much faster than going up, and when were near to our starting point, we stopped at a stream to have a paddle and cool down. After everyone had rested their feet for a while (and was sufficiently soaked) we headed back to the minibus. It had taken less than seven hours to complete the walk, including the stops for lunch and a quick dip.
On the way back we stopped again for dinner before finally arriving home at 12.30am – it had been a very long but satisfying day! We were really grateful for all the work put in by our organiser, Den Tailor, and the leaders and minibus drivers. The whole group had a brilliant time together in the great outdoors, raising money to support CRY. They were already throwing out ideas for the next fundraiser before the day was over!”
Esther Little
Participants: Jemima, Mairi, Jacob, Henry, Jonah, Vicky, Mark, George, Keri, Esther, Wendy, Annette and Dennis
Drivers: Trevor and Cliff
