Sales Executive Helen Millington (pictured, third from right) and a group of friends have together raised more than £3,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support through a 27-mile sponsored hike. Here, Helen, who is herself in remission following cancer treatment, tells us in her own words about her preparations and the big walk itself.
Yorkshire Three Peaks
My first walk was the Yorkshire Three Peaks – Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen-y-ghent – at the start of June which I walked with my husband and some friends. I love the outdoors and walking, and after talking about wanting to do this again it was agreed and booked over a few drinks at Christmas. The walk took us 10 hours in very hot sunshine but plenty of water and a huge bag of wine gums gave us the boost we needed at the end to get up the final mountain, Ingleborough. I did this eight years ago and completed it in just over 12 hours so was very happy with the 10 hours this time.
Scafell Pike
The following weekend it was followed by a lengthy walk up Scafell Pike (the highest mountain in England) taking myself and my friend eight hours 10 minutes, whilst camping for the weekend we didn’t exactly have a luxury spa at the end of it. The walk started at Seatoller campsite and took us through the valleys leading up to Scafell Pike where we had a steep climb to the summit. Having taken a wrong turn to start with, through boggy marshes and my feet getting wet in the first half an hour, I walked the rest of the eight hours with soaking wet feet but the beautiful scenery distracted me from this. There were some scary bits along the way, one point if I’d not got the right footing could’ve fallen into a deep valley but with the help of some other walkers who helped me get the right step up the rock face I was back on track. Myself and my friend planned this camping trip and walk last year as a fun little weekend away, not realising at the time that this and the three peaks walk became significant practice walks for my big charity one at the end of June!
The Mighty Marathon Hike
The charity walk was a Mighty Marathon Hike for MacMillan Cancer Support. I agreed to do this with a group of friends at the beginning of the year. The charity is close to my heart as it was a great support when I was being treated for cervical cancer in 2021 and continues to be a great support if and when I need it so I really wanted to give something back to them and contribute towards helping others living with cancer. Myself and seven friends walked the 27-mile hike around Skipton, Grassington, Janet’s Foss and Malham, which was a great achievement for us all and included myself being three and a half years in remission, my friend Jane having just recently finished her radiotherapy for breast cancer and my friend Angie who is a palliative care for cancer nurse. There were lots of laughs, tears, protein bars, blisters and rain along the way but we trekked on and completed the walk in nine hours 10 minutes with an emotional finish and also raising over £3,000 collectively for this amazing charity.