By Martin Walker
A spirited group of work colleagues and friends from Newton Aycliffe completed the gruelling Three Peaks challenge at the weekend – and now hope their feat will help to raise thousands of pounds.
Fifteen members of staff at housing charity ROCSOLID, based at Hope House in the Horndale area of the town, finished their punishing challenge inside 24 hours – with just 25 minutes to spare!
The Three Peaks Challenge involves scaling the biggest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales.
They had to first conquer the 4,400-ft Ben Nevis in Scotland, drive 260 miles to the Lake District before climbing 3,000 feet to the top of Scafell Pike and then head 210 miles South to Wales, where they scaled the 3,400-ft Mount Snowdon.
They started at exactly noon on Saturday, and completed their impressive challenge shortly after 11.30am on Sunday.
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Several of the staff are Aycliffe residents, including Steve Cook, David James and Brian McAnaney, who have given up their time to raise money to spend on treats for the young people they help care for.
“It was very hard, both mentally and physically,” said Steve, one of the organisers.
“I must say it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but all the support we’ve had kept us going, and we couldn’t have done it without the excellent team we had with us.
“A special thanks to my wife, Colette, who has put up with it all and looked after our babies throughout!”
All the money raised will go towards confidence-building activity breaks, some of whom have never been out of an urban environment.
ROCSOLID want to take them to rural outward bound centres so they can do team-building activities and learn important things about themselves by overcoming personal challenges.
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To learn more about ROCSOLID, visit their site www.reachoutcare.co.uk