A determined team took on the legendary Welsh 3000s last week, tackling one of the UK’s toughest mountain treks to raise vital funds for the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary.
The challenge saw Wildheart’s CEO Lawrence Bates joined by Mary Lenton, Sandra Digby and Charlie Panayi as they set out to summit all 15 of Wales’ highest peaks.
Battling soaring temperatures, relentless climbs and challenging terrain, the team completed the first two legs and 15 hours of the route together, summiting 10 of the 15 peaks, totalling over 9,000 feet of climbing before injury and fatigue forced Mary, Sandra and Charlie to make the difficult decision to withdraw before the final leg.
Undeterred, Lawrence continued alone into the night, pushing through the mental and physical exhaustion and feet of blisters to complete the final 5 peaks, finally reaching the 15th summit just before midnight. However, to his surprise, he realised the challenge wasn’t quite over, as he was faced with another two-hour walk back out of the mountains before the epic journey finally came to an end.
Overall, Lawrence completed approximately 32 miles of hiking, spending 19 hours on the mountains and achieved 13,750ft of ascent, plus the equivalent amount of descent.
Lawrence Bates, CEO of Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, said:
“This was without doubt one of the toughest physical and mental challenges I’ve ever faced. The heat made every climb harder than we could have imagined, and by the final leg I was running almost entirely on determination. Mary, Sandra and Charlie gave absolutely everything over the first two legs and should be incredibly proud of what they achieved. Completing all 15 peaks was only possible because of the incredible team spirit and support we shared throughout the challenge.”
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The Welsh 3000s is regarded as one of Britain’s most demanding mountain challenges, requiring participants to tackle all 15 of Wales’ mountains over 3,000ft in a continuous journey across Snowdonia.
The challenge was undertaken to raise funds for the Island’s Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, an independent charity that provides lifelong care for rescued animals from around the world. Every donation will help support the Sanctuary’s rescue, conservation and welfare work, ensuring hundreds of animals continue to receive the specialist care they deserve.
Although the challenge is complete, the fundraising continues, and the team is encouraging supporters to help them reach their £3,000 fundraising target.
Lawrence added:
“Reaching that final summit felt incredible, but knowing every donation will help transform the lives of rescued animals makes every step worthwhile. If you’ve been following our journey, we’d be hugely grateful if you could help us reach our fundraising target.”
Supporters wishing to sponsor the team can donate via the team’s fundraising page: https://wildheartanimalsanctuary.enthuse.com/pf/team-wildheart-welsh-3000s.
