I walked the tallest mountain in England at midnight

This year, my family decided to do something in memory of a family member we had lost, and we found the Scafell Pike challenge, which was lead by Charity Challenge. The website labelled the event as 'tough' - which looking back now was an understatement.

The charity which we raised money for was 'Papyrus' which is a UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people, as well as 'Every Life Matters'.

I have some friends who have previously climbed Scafell Pike, and I knew from their accounts that it was going to be challenging. However, the most common route is starting from Wasdale and is typically a 5.9 mile long walk, and they usually do this in the middle of the day.

In my family's case, we took the hardest route as our guides told us 'we wanted it to be a challenge', which again was an understatement. Our total walk took us around 11 hours and close to 18 miles long.

This photo was taken as we were coming back down the mountain at around 5.00am

We begun our walk at around 10.30pm from Sticklebarn Pub in Ambleside, this meant it took us around an hour and a half to reach the bottom of the mountain.

Once we did, it was an incredible uphill battle (literally). It was pitch black but we had our trusty head torches in tow. Looking back, I think I am grateful it was so dark as it meant I could not see how steep the mountain ahead of me was.

We were hit with the elements in true Cumbrian fashion and our waterproofs took a beating. Naturally, we formed groups based on ability and that saw all six of my family members spread across the groups (I am not ashamed to admit I was at the back).

We finally reached the summit at around 4am, and low and behold. It was foggy. We could not see a thing.

We begun our descent shortly after and could not believe we had walked up that mountain once it finally became lighter. We came together as a group once everyone was down. However, we were one big toe short; one member's shoe sole came off at the summit and, along with that, her nail.

Although we have spent the majority of our time after finishing the challenge complaining about how difficult it was and how achy we still are, we know we put ourselves through this ordeal in memory of a wonderful family member we have lost, and we left a rock at the top of the summit which we painted with their favourite album cover on it, as well as another with their football club on.

The rock we left at the top of the summit (Image: Newsquest)

In total, we have raised over £4,000 in total for a charity which is incredibly close to our hearts.

I am still aching however.