WHAT DO THE HILLS MEAN TO YOU? As part of Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million, we’re collecting tales of personal connection to the places featured in the campaign. The aim is to show that the fundraising effort is about more than just fixing paths – it’s about looking after places which mean a great deal to many people. Here are two stories of many – check
www.mendmountains.thebmc.co.uk for more.
MOUNTAIN STORIES:
MEND OUR MOUNTAINS 2
WILL ROBERTS:
“I TALK TO MY DAD ON TOP OF MAM TOR”
‘Unlikely athlete’ Will Roberts shares the poignant personal story of his connection to the Peak District’s Great Ridge.
LINDSAY BUCK:
“I LIKE TO LEAVE THE MOUNTAIN CLEANER THAN WHEN I SET OFF”
Fell runner Lindsay Buck runs up England’s highest mountain twice a week, collecting litter on the way.
“I retired six years ago with the aim of going on the fells more. I live in Gosforth, just outside Wasdale, so those hills are very accessible for me. My favourite run used to be up Kirk Fell, but I came to realise that the Scafell Pike had a significant problem with litter. I can’t stand seeing rubbish, so I started running up the Pike instead and picking it up on the way.
I run up it twice a week usually. I never come back without a full bag. I walked up there today and collected two. I’ve found some odd things over the years: a full-sized pair of boots literally by the summit, minus the laces; a sachet of cat food; full bottes of alcohol. There’s always chewing gum and cigarette ends. Tins of fish are quite popular – dogs will cut themselves to bits trying to get into them. But it’s not just obvious litter, it’s also things people don’t realise it’s not okay to leave like banana skins. The National Trust clear a lot of litter, Fix the Fells pick up quite
a lot too. A lot of people do it unseen. But it’s a never-ending job, it’s a question of damage limitation really. I think the majority leave the fells as clean as they started off. But the Pike is so busy, sometimes it’s just solid with people. It doesn’t need much of a minority to leave stuff. It’s satisfying to leave the mountain cleaner than when you set off. I try and persuade other people to do the same as me. People shouldn’t drop litter in the first place, but I think we should all do our bit to clear it. It’s like litter on the roads, people sometimes just assume it’s someone else’s responsibility. But if you can pick it up yourself, why not do so?”
ESSENTIAL INFO: MEND OUR MOUNTAINS: MAKE ONE MILLION LAUNCH DATE: November 2017
AIM: raise £1 million to support urgent path repair projects throughout the UK’s entire family of 15 national parks. DURATION: one year, with a wide range of fundraising techniques.
HOW CAN I DONATE? For the first six months, we’re focussing on drawing support from large organisations and businesses leading to an appeal for individual donations starting in spring 2018. But you can donate right now at
www.mendmountains.thebmc.co.uk.
FIND OUT MORE:
www.mendmountains.thebmc.co.uk Words: Carey Davies.
Carey is the BMC hill walking development officer. Follow him @walk_talk
“I grew up in South Yorkshire and my dad loved the Peak District. I spent many a Sunday in my early teens walking beside him. He seemed to know every peak from every angle when I was young and I was fascinated by the beautiful area and his knowledge of it. But in my later teens I began pulling away from the outdoors and I didn’t spend so much time in my hiking boots or with my Dad. Teenagers are like that I suppose. In January 2016, weighing almost 15 stone, aged 34, and with a decade or so of punk gigs, lager and late nights behind me, I signed up for the Ice Ultra. This was a 150 mile foot race in northern Sweden on the other side of the Arctic Circle. At the time I could barely run 5 miles.
I spent every spare evening and weekend of 2016 marching and running through the Peak District, almost always ending up on Mam Tor and dropping into Edale. In November 2016, I ran a 50 kilometre ultramarathon which ended with a climb over Mam Tor and, with the finish line in Edale in sight, a joyous run down the Grand Ridge. My sore legs were totally forgotten as I flew down that slope from Mam Tor to Hollins Cross. When I arrived in Edale I found a message I received a couple of hours earlier which I
hadn’t seen. My dad had been rushed to hospital. He died that night before I could get to him. He always loved hearing about how much time I was spending back on the trails we used to share. He had been unwell for a long time and his mobility was very limited. It had been a long time since he had been able to see them again for himself. I feel like I was helping to bring him closer to them. By March 2017 I had run the Ice Ultra. I’d done something I never thought was possible. He didn’t get to see it. I talk to him at the top of Mam Tor.”
44 | CLIMB. WALK. JOIN.
PHOTO: WILL ROBERTS COLLECTION.
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