Next fundraising ideas

I’m looking for something to inspire me, something to aim for, a reason for doing something. Ideally I would like to do something that I will enjoy, while being challenged, and at the same time raising money for one or more charities. Obviously, as a Type 1 diabetic I would like to raise money for Diabetes UK, but I was wondering how much to aim for.

The answer came when it transpired that a delegate on one of my training courses volunteers for the Mountain Rescue. I started to wonder how much it costs to run a Mountain Rescue team.

The answer would appear to be along the following lines:

To kit out one person: £1709

To run a team for a year: £25000

Cockermouth MRT had 49 call outs in 2011 compared to the 80 in 2010.

So that works out to be £312 – £510 per call out.

If I balance the contribution between Diabetes UK and MRT that works out to be a target of £1000. That should be achievable.

Objective

Wainwright wrote seven guides to the Lake District. A walk that connects the highest point in each book would make a good route from the north of the Lake District to Windermere.

Stages

Every journey has a beginning, a middle and an end. For this one:

• The Beginning
  Travel from Oxford to Aspatria, between Carlisle and Cockermouth
• The Middle
  Walk from Aspatria to Windermere
• The End
  Travel from Windermere back to Oxford

There and Back

The obvious way to get there and back is by train. Buses will take too long and driving will require two vehicles and other people. The only down side with the train is the cost – I wonder if I can get Virgin trains to sponsor me somehow?

The Middle Bit

As for the route itself the main points of interest will be:

• Skiddaw
• Grasmoor
• Great Gable
• Scafell Pike
• High Raise
• Helvellyn
• High Street

I’ve contacted Diabetes UK and they will help me with fundraising. Now to set dates and start planning….