A group of Brighton college students took on an amazing challenge to hike across the Lake District this summer in support of Rockinghorse.
For many students, the summer holidays mean lie ins, lazy days in the sun and not making any plans further than what to have for lunch.
But Kip Douglas and 11 of his fellow Varndean College students decided this wasn’t for them.
Instead, they wanted to achieve something over the summer between their lower and upper 6th years and raise money for a local charity. So, after thinking about a range of options, they decided on a week-long charity hike across the Lake District National Park, covering around 100km over seven days from one side of the national park to the other.
When it came to choosing a charity to support, Kip and his friends decided on Rockinghorse because, “We wanted to raise money for a local charity, where we could actually see the difference that our fundraising was making. And due to all of us growing up in Brighton we all have a history with the Royal Alex, so we loved the idea of being able to support and give back.”
And as for a route, they decided on the Lake District due to its relative closeness but also because the terrain is an extreme enough environment for the hike to be challenging and visually stunning.
To ensure that the hike wasn’t just walking around the Lake District for seven days, the group came up with the idea to walk from one side to the other, starting at Penrith station at the eastern border, to Ravenglass station on the west coast.
Once Kip had decided on the challenge, the next task was to get people onboard which wasn’t as easy as they originally thought. Kip said, “Initially it was a bit difficult to get people on board because many people felt unprepared for a challenge like this, never having done a multi-day hike before.
“So, I put together a small slideshow explaining how the hike could work and putting emphasis on the potential fun we could have even during the tough days, but also on the fact that it would be a really meaningful challenge as we were aiming to raise a significant amount for Rockinghorse.”
This did the trick and Kip ended up with a team of 12 signing up to take part. And then the planning started in earnest!
The planning team were made up of six members, each with a designated area to organise, including train journeys and transport to and from the Lake District, the meals and kit list, route planning, and accommodation during the week.
Strangely, this proved to be the most difficult thing to arrange as many of the campsites in the area have strict ‘no groups of over five teenagers’ rule which meant that they had to contact each of the campsites individually to ask for an exception.
Although there were all these different elements to the planning, they were all dependent on each other, so the group would have weekly meetings in college to work together and plan the challenge as a whole.
Soon enough the date for the trek came around and the team took the train up to Penrith where their challenge began.
The first day saw the group trek 13km to a campsite on the shore of Ullswater, followed on second day by a 16km route that took them the length of the lake.
Day three was their longest distance, with a 21km route climbing two peaks and a couple of valleys to get to Great Langdale. The next day was a rainy one where the group climbed into the fells and walked past many mountain tarns before dropping into Wasdale.
Day five was a well-earned rest day where they were able to dry their tents and clothes from the rainy day before, and re-stock supplies that were running low. Then their second to last day saw them walking for the longest time, starting by summiting Scafell Pike then descending into a mountain valley until they finally reached Eskdale at 9.00pm.
The final day saw them walking through the woods to Ravenglass station, and with a few hours to spare before their train they managed to have a well-earned paddle in the sea.
Along the trip Kip and the team had some memorable moments as he explained, “On a couple of days we went wild swimming in tarns or mountain streams which was lovely. And on day six the path that was on the map didn’t exist anymore, so we tried to scramble up to a ridge to re-join a path but had to turn back last minute due to strong winds.
“Then on the last stretch of Scafell Pike, I donned an inflatable horse costume to encourage more people to donate!”
“All in all, we all felt incredibly proud of what we had achieved. We were knackered on the train journey home, with most of us having blistered feet and sore backs but also amazed at having raised £1,500.”
As for his next challenge, Kip isn’t quite sure of their plans, “At the moment we don’t have anything planned for future events, but we’ll keep our group together and we might arrange something to do in our gap year – who knows.”
Jules Billings, Fundraising Manager at Rockinghorse, was blown away by the group’s efforts. She said, “Having a group of young people plan and undertake a challenge like this off their own backs is amazing! It sounds like the most wonderful experience, the memory of which they will keep with them for many years to come.
“Not to mention the fundraising they have achieved. Supporting other children and young people in their local community is truly inspirational and we simply can’t thank them enough for everything they have done for Rockinghorse.”
If you have a challenge or event that you’re thinking of organising, feel free to get in touch with Jules to see how we can help.
