A woman who was at risk of losing her foot after a fall on ice, has just completed a self-powered adventure ‘triathlon’ across England, Scotland and Wales.

Claire Hughes, 44, from Wylam, has travelled across the three nations by packraft, bike and on foot, incorporating the longest lake and biggest mountain in each and cycling between them to raise more than £7,500 for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), after she required their help following a fall in the Pennines.

In November 2021, Claire and her partner James Mackay were walking in icy conditions around the Blanchland area in Northumberland, in the aftermath of Storm Arwen when she slipped.

Due to the ice and snow, it would have taken several hours for a road ambulance to reach Miss Hughes, so GNAAS was called, and their critical care team based in Langwathby, Penrith flew to the scene in just over 15 minutes.

The team found Miss Hughes to be at severe risk of losing her foot and developing hypothermia in the -20C wind-chill conditions.

Thankfully Miss Hughes has recovered well and on 19 April she embarked on a self-powered triathlon across the UK raising money for GNAAS.

She said: “It was so exciting to undertake something which others could actively feel a part of.

“There was the tracker for 'dot watching', or folk could pop by and watch me come past or I even had a few friends who joined for short sections such as a section of a bike ride or to climb a hill. 

“The kindness of strangers really blew me away as well - when I did stay on campsites, all insisted on any fee going to my fundraising instead; a lady I had never met before paddled out to meet me for a section of my longest paddle with strawberries and lovely company for a couple of hours; another lady was waiting outside her house with a pint of iced water as she thought I’d need it after cycling up the hill near her house.

“I know I love the outdoors and would be happy being completely outside for a week but the human element to the challenge was an unanticipated joy.”

Miss Hughes’ challenge started in Wales, where she paddled Llyn Tegid (Lake Bala), cycled to Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and hiked Snowdon. She then cycled to Newby Bridge, paddled Windermere, cycled to Langdale and hiked Scafell in the Lake District.

She said: “The finish was amazing. I feel quite emotional still thinking about it. The camera crew and my best friend joined me for the Carn Mor Dearg Arrete which links in to Ben Nevis from the north and is just a lovely route.

“We had all the weather from sunshine to heavy snow but when I eventually crawled on to the summit, more lovely friends were there waiting on an otherwise empty but sunny summit. It was a fabulous way to finish - lots of laughs, photos and incredible views. We then all went out for a curry and I pretty much fell asleep in my main course.”

 “My watch got notifications every time an email from my fundraising page dropped - it was such an incredible boost to get those notifications whilst I was slogging through the miles and did genuinely help spur me on through some difficult times.

“We are also making a short film of the challenge which will be ready later in the year so I am hoping that might help continue to raise a little more money for GNAAS off the back of this challenge.”

You can sponsor Miss Hughes via her JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/page/claire-hughes-1689324407825