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Challenges

Launch of 2022 UK Challenges – Winter, Urban and At Night

April 26, 2021

Charity Challenge are very pleased to announce the launch of our 2022 UK challenge dates for our Winter, Urban and At Night Challenge series. Think of a time when Covid-19 is just a distant memory and we can comfortably travel and explore the best the UK has to offer!

Can you see yourself trekking under the starry skies of Snowdonia in order to reach the summit of Snowdon for sunrise? Or take on a marathon distance trek between the ten historic and beautiful Royal Park’s in London? Or maybe you want to test yourselves in a more extreme environment by pitting yourself against the spectacular snowy landscape of the Scottish Highlands covered in winter?

Discover some of the most spectacular National Parks, UNESCO World Heritage Sites and cities that the UK has to offer with our Winter, Urban and At Night Challenge series and make 2022 the year it all comes true, while raising money for a worthwhile cause, close to your heart.

Winter Challenges

Winter Ben Nevis Weekend, Scotland

An incredible challenge to summit the UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis (1344m), in winter! Learn key winter skills, including the use of crampons and ice axes, and then put them to good use to reach the summit where you can enjoy the spectacular views of the Scottish Highlands covered in snow.

Urban Challenges

London Royal Parks Challenge, England

Challenge yourself to this marathon distance trek between the ten London Royal Park’s. This epic 42km route will take you across historic parkland and beautiful green spaces, while passing some of the finest architecture in London.

London 10 Peaks Challenge, England

Discover ten of London’s often hidden peaks on this new marathon distance walking urban challenge. See a different side to London and journey through 42km of beautiful woodland, nature reserves and quieter spaces on the popular ‘London Loop’ footpath.

Edinburgh 7 Summits Challenge, Scotland

Take part in this tough 35km urban challenge set in the heart of Edinburgh. Experience hidden routes through this beautiful Scottish city and experience it from seven incredible viewpoints! You’ll follow historic waterways, forgotten railways, stop off at castles and palaces and climb to the summit of Arthurs Seat – an extinct volcano!

At Night Challenges

South Downs at Night, England

Push yourself to the limit on this unique nighttime challenge through the South Downs National Park. Trek 42km along the South Downs Way battling fatigue and the demanding terrain of one of southern England’s newest National Parks before reaching Beachy Head and Eastbourne as the sun begins to rise.

Ben Nevis at Night, Scotland

Beginning in Glen Nevis, in the heart of the Scottish highlands, this spectacular challenge will take you to the top of Ben Nevis (1345m)….at night! Reach the summit as the sun starts to rise and you will be rewarded with spectacular views of the Scottish Highlands.

Scafell Pike at Night, England

Trek under a blanket of stars along this magnificent route to the summit of the highest mountain in England – Scafell Pike (978m). A unique way to challenge yourself and your senses, whilst racing the sun through the night in the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Snowdon at Night, Wales

Beginning in the town of Llanberis, in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park, this spectacular challenge will see you and fellow fundraisers trekking to the top of Snowdon (1085m) … at night! Trek under the starry skies of Snowdonia in order to reach the summit of the highest mountain in Wales for sunrise.

Yorkshire 3 Peaks at Night, England

Challenge yourself to complete this classic UK trekking challenge, but with a twist! It’s a 38km trek at night to summit the Yorkshire Three Peaks – Ingleborough, Whernside and Pen Y Ghent. Start as the sun sets and aim to reach the final peak as the sun begins to rise.

Booking with Confidence

We understand that there may still be a little uncertainty around booking in the current climate, so we have pulled together “Booking with Confidence”, all the information you require to help you book your next Charity Challenge with absolute confidence.

All of our challenges have new health and safety measures in place to ensure they are Covid Safe. Read more here Covid-19 : Keeping you Safe. Please rest assured that Charity Challenge will continue to monitor all of the latest advice from both the government and local authorities and will ensure that all of our safety systems are up to date.

We are proud to have acquired the UK Industry Standard mark, “We’re good to go” in partnership with the Tourist Organisations of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This means that our business has followed government and industry Covid-19 guidelines, has a risk assessment in place and a process to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.

Challenges

FEATURED CHALLENGE : National Three Peaks Challenge

April 14, 2021

Highlights :

Take on the three highest mountains in the UK – Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike, and Snowdon
Be one of the first hikers of the day to take on Ben Nevis
Hike under the starry skies of the Lake District National Park and summit Scafell Pike at night
Reach the summit of the highest mountain in Wales for sunrise
Aim to summit all three peaks within 24hrs!

Overview :

Brace yourself for a fast-paced and physically challenging adventure, as you take on the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales in 24hrs. Considered one of Britain’s toughest outdoor challenges, the National Three Peaks Challenge takes in the dizzy heights of Ben Nevis (1,344m), Scafell Pike (978m) and Snowdon (1,085m).

Over the course of two days, you will trek around 42km and ascend to a total height of almost 3,000m. The equivalent of a full marathon distance, but with 3 hills! This is a serious and tough challenge which requires a good level of fitness, as well as plenty of grit and determination. Ultimately, however, your hard work will be rewarded with spectacular views and a huge sense of achievement.

Why Choose Charity Challenge?

Over the years Charity Challenge has built up a wealth of experience that has enabled us to create the very best National Three Peaks itinerary that is geared towards providing everyone with the very best experience and opportunity to complete the challenge successfully.

We only use full specification minibuses with luggage carried in a trailer to maximise the space available to you on the vehicles. We use professional drivers, and adhere to driver hour regulations in order to keep you safe. We include proper meal stops to make sure you are fully fuelled and to maximise your chance of success. We employ one leader to look after you for the full event, and then additional ‘fresh’ leader on each mountain to help keep the group moving at an appropriate speed. We have also built in plenty of contingency time to our itinerary as delays can happen and we want to make sure everyone gets the opportunity to complete the challenge regardless as to what the traffic on the M6 is like!

Whats included in the challenge :

Travel to and from the challenge start/finish point (from Chester train station)
One night’s accommodation in a hotel (twin-share)
Three meals a day (unless otherwise stated in the itinerary)
Drinking water on challenge days
Charity Challenge medal
Fully qualified, highly experienced, knowledgeable and fun Mountain Leaders
Challenge Safe Kit – a disposable face mask, 100ml alcohol-based hand sanitiser (72%) and a Charity Challenge buff
15% off Cotswold Outdoor, Snow and Rock, and Runners Need
10% kit hire discount with Outdoorhire
Support materials (itinerary, kit list, challenge information, health notes, Covid Safe health & safety guidelines, travel tips, responsible travel policy, and guidance)
Fundraising advice & fitness training notes
Repeat booker discount for your next Charity Challenge

How to fund your challenge :

Self-funder – Pay a registration fee of £95 when you book. Then a balance of £424 (5 weeks before your challenge). Raise as much as you can for your nominated charity.
Minimum sponsorship – Registration fee of £95 when you book. Raise a minimum of £865 for your nominated charity. You can raise funds for any UK or Irish registered charity.

For more information please click here

Availability :

We currently have 11 departure dates in 2023 for the National Three Peaks Challenge. This is by far our most popular challenge and one we think everyone should tick off their challenge bucket list!

Book your National Three Peaks Challenge here

Tips & Advice

Spring Fundraising Ideas

March 19, 2021

With the start of Spring on Saturday the 20th of March the opportunities for new fundraising ideas begin to bloom. The lockdown measures are beginning to ease, the sun is starting to shine and the days are becoming longer – the perfect time to kick start your fundraising!

National Walking Month

May is National Walking Month and it’s the perfect opportunity to get outside, start moving and raise much needed funds for some worthwhile causes. Plus, it is also the best time of year to see bluebells so make sure you put on those walking boots and get outside!

Fundraising ideas :

WALKATHON – You, your friends, one day, 26 miles. Pick a route and get going! Ask your mates to sponsor you per mile.
TRY20 – Do the #try20 challenge and aim to walk 20 minutes every day for the whole month – ask your friends and colleagues to sponsor you.
10,000 STEPS – Get active this spring and take 10,000 steps a day for 30 days. Use your smart phone or watch to keep an eye on your progress. Ask you mates to sponsor your efforts.
DOG WALKING – Offer to walk your neighbours and friends’ dogs in return for a donation.

Bake Off

During lock down we can guarantee that new bakers have appeared amongst our friends and family! Now is the time to put everyone’s skills to the test and get your friends, family and colleagues together for your own Spring Bake Off. Bakers can give money to take part in the competition and people can vote for their favourites by donating. You can also auction off the showstoppers. Perfect for both an online or in person event! With the return of Stand Up To Cancer Bake Off the nation is definitely ready to get baking. #readysteadybake

Garden Party

The weather is warming up, so get the picnic rugs ready, fire up the barbeque, and throw a garden party. The size of the party will be dependent on the latest set of guidelines from the government. Provide food, drinks and entertainment in exchange for donations. The opportunities with this are event are endless! Hold a themed party. Ask a live band to provide music (lots of new musicians also emerging from lockdown!). Serve food and drinks donated by local restaurants and cafes. Ask local businesses to donate prizes for a raffle, auction or tombola on the big day. Set up a Selfie station. Hold a cake sale. Set up a face painting stand. Play garden games…

Sell tickets prior to the event so you know how much stock is required and how many people will be attending your fundraising event. Upcoming dates that you could take advantage of: The Queen’s Birthday 12th June, National Picnic Week 19th -27th June 2021, National BBQ Week July 2^nd – 11^th 2021.

Easter

Easter Sunday this year falls on the 4th of April and it is a cracking time to fundraise! Easter Egg Decorating. Easter bake-offs. Egg and spoon races. Easter flower arrangements. You can even fill a jar with mini eggs, get people to guess how many are in there and ask them to donate. The person with the closest guess wins the jar or a prize (ask local businesses to donate something).

Easter Egg hunts are also a classic spring time fundraiser, ensure you follow the latest set of guidelines from the government. If your garden is big enough invite everyone round for the hunt in return for a donation. Alternatively, you could speak to local parks and gardens and see if they would support your event and allow it on their property – but do ask first!

Earth Day

The theme for Earth day on the 22nd of April is “Restore Our Earth”. What a perfect opportunity to join the world’s largest environmental movement and run a fundraising event that can support our local communities and focus on areas that are affected by environmental issues.

Fundraising ideas:

TREE PLANTING – Plant new trees and plants in your local community. Get volunteers to join you as planters. Accept donations of seedlings and other plantable items, ideally native plants. If you plant on public property, such as in a park, be sure to get permission from local authorities.
PLOGGING / RUBBISH WALK – Set yourself a jogging or walking challenge combined with picking up litter. This will have a positive impact on our environment and our bodies – in other words, it’s an earth-friendly way to get fit.
CLEANUP DAY – Each volunteer gets a roll of rubbish bags, a pair of gloves, and a shovel or rubbish pick, and performs a walking clean-up of a designated area. If you are going on public property, such as in a park, be sure to get permission from local authorities.
PLANT A COMMUNITY GARDEN – A community garden can bring a wide range of benefits – from connecting people with each other to growing fresh food to enjoy. Check out the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) website for tips on how to get this up and running.

Spring Clean

It is officially the start of Spring so there is no better time to have a clear out! With spring cleaning comes an excellent opportunity for online and in-person car boot sales to raise money for your good cause. Create an event page on a neighborhood site, such as Nextdoor, and invite your community to donate and/or buy items.

If you wish to sell online there are a variety of platforms that you can use such as Ebay, Amazon Marketplace, Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace, and Shopify. Please ensure that you clean and disinfect everything before passing them on. Don’t forget to share your listings on social media to help increase awareness of your fundraising events.

Inspiration

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

January 21, 2021

Charity Challenge - Great Wall Discovery

Are you considering what should go next on your bucket list? At Charity Challenge we love nothing more than taking on challenges in locations that allow our challengers to explore inspirational cultural and natural sites around the world, such as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

What is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

World Heritage Sites are designated by (UNESCO) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for having cultural, historical, scientific or natural importance. The sites contain “cultural and natural heritage around the world” that are considered to be of “outstanding universal value to humanity and as such, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to be protected for future generations to appreciate and enjoy”

As of January 2021, there are currently 1,121 UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world. At Charity Challenge we are very lucky to run challenges that visit over 50 of these amazing sites. Unfortunately this blog is not long enough for us to cover all of these so we have pulled together some of our favourites!

How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites have you been to?

Charity Challenge - South West Coast Path Challenge

1- Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape – explore on the South West Coast Path challenge, England

Charity Challenge -Hadrian's Wall Trail Challenge

2. Frontiers of the Roman Empire – explore on Hadrian’s Wall Trail Challenge, England

Charity Challenge - Lake District 5 Peaks Challenge

3. The English Lake District – explore on the Lake District 5 Peaks Challenge, England

4. Kathmandu Valley – explore on Everest Base Camp, Nepal

Charity Challenge - Great Wall Discovery Extension

5. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor – explore on the Great Wall Discovery Extension, China

Charity Challenge - Cuba Revolution Cycle

6. Old Havana and its Fortification System – explore on the Cuba Revolution Cycle, Cuba

Charity Challenge - Giants Causeway Challenge

7. Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast – explore on our Giant’s Causeway Challenge, Northern Ireland

Charity Challenge - Jurassic Coast Challenge

8. Dorset and East Devon Coast – explore on the Jurassic Coast Challenge, England

Charity Challenge - Edinburgh 7 Summits Challenge

9. Old and New Towns of Edinburgh – Explore on The Edinburgh 7 Summits Challenge, Scotland

Charity Challenge - Trek to Machu Picchu

10. Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu – explore on Trek to Machu Picchu, Peru

Charity Challenge - Kilimanjaro Summit Climb

11. Kilimanjaro National Park – explore on one of our Kilimanjaro Summit Climb’s, Tanzania

12. The Great Wall – Explore on the Great Wall Discovery, China

Charity Challenge - Sumatra Jungle Challenge

13. Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra – explore on the Sumatra Jungle Challenge, Indonesia

Charity Challenge - Saigon to Angkor Wat Bike Ride

14. Angkor – explore on the Saigon to Angkor Wat Bike Ride, Vietnam & Cambodia

15. Petra – explore on
Trek to Petra, Jordan

Charity Challenge - cycle India And The Taj Mahal

16. Taj Mahal – explore on Cycle India and the Taj Mahal, India

Charity Challenge - Amazon Survivor Challenge

17. Central Amazon Conservation Complex ¹ – explore on the Amazon Survivor Challenge, Brazil

Charity Challenge -Zambezi River Challenge

18. Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls – explore on the Zambezi River Challenge, Zambia

Want to tick some more UNESCO World Heritage Sites off your list? Choose your next challenge today!

Inspiration

Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (18 – 24 January)

January 20, 2021

It’s Cervical Cancer Prevention Week and we’re supporting Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust because we want you to know where you can get support, the latest information and tips about smear tests.

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust are the UK’s leading cervical cancer charity. Nine women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every day and 220,000 are diagnosed with cell changes, often needing treatment. Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust want to see cervical cancer prevented and reduce the impact for everyone affected by cervical cell changes (abnormal cells) and cervical cancer through providing the highest quality information and support, and campaigning for excellence in cervical cancer treatment and prevention.

During Cervical Cancer Prevention Week we want as many people as possible to know how they can reduce their risk of cervical cancer and to educate others. The last year has been a challenge with lots of things in life becoming more difficult. But one thing hasn’t changed, the importance of cervical screening (smear test). Smear tests are the best protection against cervical cancer, but they aren’t always easy and coronavirus has added additional challenges to attending.

We want to ensure as many people as possible have reliable information and support about smear tests, results and any changes due to the pandemic.

You can get involved by encouraging your family and friends to go to their smear tests if they get invited. If you get invited to make a smear test appointment, that’s because your GP practice has safety measures in place to make it safe. Government guidance says that you are allowed to go, even within the current restrictions across the UK, as cervical screening is a medical appointment.

You can also join in #SmearForSmear all you have to do is follow these simple steps:

Smear your lipstick and take a photo. Why? Because it grabs attention
Post it on social media using #SmearForSmear and tag us too!
Include a message about the importance of smear tests, tell your friends and family where they can access tips and support
Ask them to get involved too
Don’t forget to be kind. It can be a really difficult test for lots of people, especially at the moment

Our New Year Sale is here! Get up to 30% off registration fees

January 4, 2021

At Charity Challenge, we are very happy to put 2020 behind us and make a fresh start in 2021.

It has been a tough year for us all, but we are ready for some positive change. Now is the time to focus on the new year, and all of the amazing possibilities that it will bring. Is this the year you will do something amazing not only for yourself but also for a good cause close to your heart?

To support you on your journey we are offering up to 30% off the registration fees on selected challenges in 2021 & 2022 in our New Year Sale. Discounts are available until midnight on Sunday 31st January 2021. T&C’s apply.

Click here to choose your challenge and start your next adventure!

Use code NY2021 when booking and enjoy all the incredible adventures that lie ahead. Below is a little taster of some of the amazing discounts we have on offer this year…