Fab five climb the peaks for Ayrshire Hospice

Aug 8 2008 by Edwin Lawrence

A FAB five young men climbed the highest peaks of Scotland, England and Wales in one day.

And in the process they raised more than £3000 for the Ayrshire Hospice.

You might think that five men in their 20s wouldn’t have much cause to think about the work of the hospice.

But terminal illness is no respecter of age, and the lads did their fundraising in memory of two very dear friends.

They saw for themselves how the hospice cared for their pals, Mark Wilson and William McLennan.

And they knew how much that care meant to Mark and William’s families and friends.

That was what spurred the five to do their fantastic fundraiser.

The five are: brothers Neil and Lawrie Winstanley, and Blair Thomson, all from Ayr; Robin Ghosh, from Coylton; and Kevin Muirhead from Paisley.

The clock started ticking at the foot of Ben Nevis at 4pm.

Scotland’s highest peak was done and dusted by about 9.30pm – so far, so good.

Now came a 4½-hour drive to Scafell Pike in the Lake District.

And it was 2am when they started climbing England’s highest, using head torches.

They were back at the foot of Scafell Pike by around 7.30am.

Now they faced a 3½-hour drive to Snowdon in Wales.

They started climbing around 11am, and were back at the bottom around 2pm – two hours inside the 24-hour challenge.

The five collected a super £3112 in sponsorship cash, and handed over a cheque to the Ayrshire Hospice.

Just for the record, Ben Nevis is 4409 ft high, Scafell Pike 3209ft, and Snowdon 3560ft.

So the lads climbed a total of 11,178ft – as well as sharing the driving for 800 miles.

Neil said: “It was tough at times but we’re thrilled to have done it.”

“Ayr firm Falconer Minibus paid for our transport, and we’re grateful to them.”

Now Neil and his pals are mulling over another challenge next summer.

Neil said: “We’re thinking about the Highland Highway – across the peaks, rather than through the glens of the West Highland Way.”