29 Jul 2022
Led by co-founders Paul Horwood and Robyn Lowe, the group of 11 scaled Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon.
Rachael Buzzel
Job Title
Veterinary Voices Hiking Group setting off to conquer Ben Nevis.
A veterinary walking group set up earlier in the year to promote wellness has conquered the National Three Peaks Challenge in aid of veterinary mental health charity Vetlife.
On the weekend of 22 to 23 July, the Veterinary Voices Hiking Group started the challenge at Ben Nevis in Scotland, then drove to Scafell Pike in England and enjoyed a moonlit hike to the summit, guided by their head torches.
The spirited team then travelled to Snowdonia in Wales to scale Snowdon.
Led by the group’s co-founders vet Paul Horwood and RVN Robyn Lowe, the group of 11 – many of whom had never met before the event – took on horrendous conditions, including persistent rain and high winds to complete the challenge.
In total, it took the team 26 hours and 52 minutes to vanquish the peaks, with a hiking time of 11 hours and 56 minutes. Mrs Lowe said huge traffic jams between Scafell and Snowdon meant the team were unfortunately unable to complete the challenge within 24 hours.
The Veterinary Voices Hiking Group’ JustGiving page has raised more than £3,500 for the mental health charity so far and will continue to fund-raise over the year at various events.
The group, which was founded to “get the profession out and about”, has been growing well since it was established in January.
Now, with more than 1,000 members sharing their walking or hiking adventures and charity events, the community is growing daily.
A spokesperson for the group said: “The aim is to get the profession walking and talking, facilitating local and national network links, to forge friendships and connections to allow veterinary professionals to have a better support system around them.”
To join the Veterinary Voices Hiking Group, visit its Facebook page and for more information, or to support or sponsor future events, email [email protected]
