by Joe Jeffrey
Robert Louden MBE to raise money for Duke of Edinburgh Awards
The Camping and Caravanning Club’s director general, Robert Louden MBE, is set to embark upon the demanding Four Peaks Challenge to raise money for the Duke of Edinburgh Award’s diamond anniversary while promoting the joys of getting active in the great outdoors.
With a small team from Club, Robert, 63, will traverse to the summit of each of the highest peaks in the UK’s four countries between 13 and 20 August. The team will begin by climbing Snowdon in Wales, before crossing the Irish Sea to walk Slieve Donard in County Down, Northern Ireland.
Next Louden and company will climb Ben Nevis in Scotland’s Grampian Mountains, the highest mountain in the British Isles at 1,346 metres, before finally heading south to finish the challenge at Scafell Pike in the Lake District, England’s highest mountain.
In total, the team will ascend more than 4,000m, or nearly 14,000ft, walk more than 30 miles, and cover nearly 1,200 miles driving and sea crossing, pitching up at six Camping and Caravanning Club Sites in tents and motorhomes along the route.]
At the summit of each mountain, a tent will be pitched, to help illustrate that camping is the perfect base for exploring the very best of the great British outdoors.
Badged as ‘The DG’s 4 Peaks DofE Diamond Challenge’, the activity continues the relationship between The Camping and Caravanning Club and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programme in its diamond anniversary year, which has already resulted in an eye-catching media stunt earlier in the year.
TV presenter and Club president, Julia Bradbury, spent the night camping on top of London’s O2 Arena as part of a joint celebration of the DofE’s Diamond Anniversary and The Camping and Caravanning Club’s annual National Camping and Caravanning Week as previously reported on CaravanTimes here.
In a world first, Julia completed the 350m walk to reach the top of The O2 at dusk on 24 May, before pitching her tent on a platform 52m above ground level, the equivalent of almost 12 London buses.
Robert Louden MBE said: “The DofE Diamond Challenge is a fantastic initiative that encourages people of all ages to do something adventurous and get out of their comfort zones in 2016, the charity’s diamond anniversary year. I’ve chosen a pretty demanding physical challenge, but I hope it helps illustrate that camping is the passport to adventures big and small. I hope my challenge inspires Club members and other campers to take on their own challenges.”
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award chief executive, Peter Westgarth, who joins Robert for the summit ascent of Scafell, said: “We’re delighted Robert has agreed to support us in our Diamond Anniversary year. Camping is a fabulous way to enjoy the outdoors, and doing a Diamond Challenge this year is the perfect opportunity for everyone to have a go at something new while raising much-needed funds for our charity to help us reach out to even more young people. It’s still not too late to sign up and do your very own challenge!”
To donate to this fundraising effort, visit Robert Louden’s Just Giving page here.
