Hotel Team Scales Heights To Raise Over £5,000 For Charity

A resilient group of walkers from the hospitality industry has completed a gruelling 14-hour hike to raise over £5,000 for a Lancashire charity.

The team of hikers from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues conquered the specially devised ‘Lancashire 5 peaks’ route, a 20-mile trek with over 2,800 metres of climbing.

The group, which consisted of employees from Lancaster House Hotel, Wild Boar Estate and Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa, scaled the summits of Gragareth on the Yorkshire border, Ward’s Stone, Wolfhole Crag and White Hill in the Forest of Bowland, and Pendle Hill near Clitheroe. 

They were joined by an equally determined band of fundraising hikers from Lancaster based firm Chiptech, making a cohort of 20 in all marching the route.

The funds raised by the English Lakes Hotels and Chiptech hiking team is being donated to BEE Adventures to support its young people's suicide prevention programme in Lancaster and Morecambe. It equips young people with the tools to cope with the stresses of life and helps them build resilience, specifically by using the outdoors to improve mental health.

HR manager at Lancaster House Hotel Faye McGuinness says:

“Our incredible team successfully completed the Lancashire 5 peaks challenge just before nightfall.  We started out at 6am and got back just before 9pm."

“The terrain was brutal at times, with vast boggy sections, uneven ground, and no defined walking paths on the final three peaks.  It truly tested everyone’s resilience."

"Despite sore legs, tired bodies, and some very muddy boots, the team pushed on together and achieved something really special."

“It was an extremely challenging day and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved and the effort they put in to keep going right to the final summit."

"Every single donation has helped make this challenge worthwhile and will have a meaningful impact on the incredible work the charity is doing.”

Co-founder of BEE Adventures Ryan Bond adds:

“We can’t thank English Lakes Hotels enough for all the effort they put into this challenge, from training and fundraising to turning up on the day and making it all happen."

“The funding will make a truly life-changing difference for these young people.  But what’s more is they get so see caring businesses in their local community who will go through all this effort - and struggle - for them.  The knowledge that people who they’ve never met care about their wellbeing is priceless.”

Minibus photo (left to right): Ken Bussey, Anthony Patterson, Ryan Bond (all BEE Adventures), then Faye McGuinness, Scott Capstick, Lukas Thackeray, Michele Aldridge, Ioanna Stergiaki, Rachel Baines, Lucy Newton and Gabriel Oanea.