A group of five friends are strapping on their hiking boots this summer to climb 10 of Scotland’s highest mountains to raise cash for a north-east children’s charity.
Brian Kerr, Andy Proctor, Davie Grieve, Gerry Robertson and Ron McGregor will take on as many Munros as they can, culminating in a grand finale of scaling Ben Nevis, for Charlie House.
They have already raised more than £2,000 for the charity, which supports youngsters with complex disabilities and their families in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
Mr Kerr, 35, said: “We all met at the same Business Networking International (BNI) chapter, as we’re all working in various trades.
“Because we’ve all got quite similar backgrounds, we became quite good friends.
“We are really inexperienced hill walkers, so this challenge really is huge for us.
“It started just after Christmas, we all decided that we should try to get a little bit fitter, and thought it would be a good idea to do something for charity to keep us motivated.
“We originally wanted to just do Nevis, but the idea kept growing arms and legs, and before we knew it we had organised to go up 10 Munros over five trips.
“So far we’ve done two trips, and climbed three Munros – Mayar, Driesh and Mount Keen.
“They were very hard. Mayar and Driesh were both major eye openers. Going up Mayar was really tough, it was pretty much vertical and you had to go up a waterfall.
“To be completely honest, it was a lot more daunting than I thought it would be – I thought it would just be a pleasant hill walk.
“Mount Keen was a little less extreme, but there was torrential rain as we were going up, so we got absolutely soaked through.
“But we’ve been really loving it so far – our grand finale will be Ben Nevis in September, and before that we’re going to do a lot more, including Cairn Gorm and Ben MacDui.
“It’s tough, but because it’s for a good cause we’re staying motivated.
“We’re hoping to 10 Munros minimum, but I’m hoping we can challenge ourselves and do even more than that.”
Mr Kerr said the group decided to raise cash for Charlie House because of the support the charity offers to children with serious disabilities across the north-east.
He said: “We’re close to the charity through the BNI.
“I’ve got a daughter myself, and children need all the help they can get – and that’s without facing challenges like disabilities.
“What Charlie House does for these kids – taking them on days out and more – really puts a smile on the children’s faces and gives the parents a little bit of respite, so they are an absolutely amazing charity to raise money for.
“So far we have raised around £2,000 on our online fundraiser, and we’re hoping to make it to our target of £5,000.”
To donate to the group’s campaign, visit www.justgiving.com and search for “Journey to Nevis”.
