Hospice man's backward fundraising trek
John Urquhart who will be doing gruelling trek for Highland Hospice
A Highland Hospice supporter is planning an unusual trek to rasie money for the charity.
John Urquhart plans to walk backwards over the Bealach nam Bò – a twisting, single track mountain road in the Applecross peninsula.
The road, which rises to 626 metres and is the third highest in Scotland, is engineered in a similar fashion to the great mountain passes in the Alps, with very tight hairpin bends which switch back and forth up the hillside, and gradients approaching 20 per cent. It boasts the greatest ascent of any road climb in the UK.
Sixty-two-year-old John, whose late wife Rene was cared for by Highland Hospice, has already raised funds for the charity through participating in the Great Wilderness Challenge and walking the West Highland Way.
The Ullapool man's latest unusual venture was inspired by friend Bernie Fish, who completed the challenge 20 years ago. Now John is set to follow in his footsteps, and is full of enthusiasm about his forthcoming challenge.
John said: “I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind for a while now, and decided to go for it. I’ve been practicing walking backwards up hills and forestry roads in Ullapool as part of my training, and I’m confident I’ll be fit for the challenge in June.”
“Highland Hospice looked after my wife Rene so well, and to me, the Hospice is a part of Heaven on earth. I’ll do absolutely anything I can to raise funds to help them. They say charity begins at home, and I thoroughly believe in supporting such an important local cause.”
Linda MacDonald, Highland Hospice’s fundraising manager, said: “John is truly inspirational, and we are full of admiration for his fundraising efforts. Not only has he raised funds for the Hospice through his own challenges, he is also a loyal and dependable source of help at many of our events. We will be rooting for John on June 4 and urge the community to get behind him and support him in this wacky fundraising challenge!”
If you wish to support John’s challenge for Highland Hospice, you can sponsor him through his JustGiving site. www.justgiving.com/John-Urquhart
