Slieve Donard Conquered for Cedar

Monday 10 October 2011

The Cedar Foundation’s ‘Slieve Donard Challenge’ took place on Saturday 8th October. Thirteen people from across Northern Ireland took park in the walking event, raising £1,800 for Cedar’s work with children and adults with disabilities.

The fundraisers had an early start, meeting at 8.30am on Saturday morning at Donard Park in Newcastle before they set off together for the summit. It took the group five hours to complete the challenge of 5.5 miles.

Slieve Donard at 850m is the highest of the Mourne Mountains, and the highest peak in Northern Ireland. On a clear day the extensive views stretching over the high Mournes, most of Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wicklow, Donegal, Wales and even Scotland can be breathtaking. It was sunny at the bottom when the fundraisers set off but unfortunately by the time they got to the top they were covered in a thick blanket of cloud and rain.  Despite this however, everyone in the group had a fantastic time and made friends with each other along the way.

Staurt Sloan from Cor-Tel said, “It was really hard going but I’m so glad I managed to complete the challenge. For me it was a big achievement!”

Christine Tweedie, Cedar’s Fundraising Co-ordinator said, “Thank you to everyone for taking part in the Slieve Donard Challenge. Following the success of this event we hope to make it even bigger and better next year.”

More pictures from our Slieve Donard Challenge are available here.