A Year of Mountains, Memory and Meaning

In October 2025, Young at Heart ULO CIC’s Director, Alison Watson-Shields, completed a remarkable personal and charitable challenge: climbing forty Wainwright fells in the Lake District during the year she turned forty. What began as a tribute to a treasured friend and mentor became a powerful journey of resilience, ageing well, community, and the everyday determination that people living with dementia and their carers show so often — quietly, consistently and with extraordinary heart.

The challenge was not about speed or spectacle. It was about presence, persistence and purpose. Alison walked through snow, heat, fog, mud, fear, setbacks and injury — and still kept going. Every step was dedicated to keeping community services going for local people living with dementia and those who support them.

The 40 Wainwrights Completed

Across ten months, Alison climbed the following fells:

• Latrigg
• Castle Crag
• Fellbarrow
• Low Fell
• Barf
• Lord’s Seat
• Broom Fell
• Hallin Fell
• Sale Fell
• Ling Fell
• Great Mell Fell
• Little Mell Fell
• Glenridding Dodd
• Sheffield Pike
• Loughrigg Fell
• Black Fell
• Gowbarrow Fell
• Arthur’s Pike
• Bonscale Pike
• Arnison Crag
• Birks
• Barrow
• Outerside
• Raven Crag
• Holme Fell
• Silver How
• Burnbank Fell
• Blake Fell
• Gavel Fell
• Knott Rigg
• Ard Crag
• Binsey
• Carlside
• Skiddaw
• Walla Crag
• Bleaberry Fell
• High Seat
• High Rigg
• Cat Bells
• Maiden Moor

A Journey of Highs, Lows and Everything In Between

The walks themselves became chapters in a story — sometimes reflective, sometimes comical, sometimes overwhelming, and often unexpectedly moving. Each brought its own lesson.

Walk 1: Latrigg – “What have I done?”

Only one kilometre into the very first climb, Alison found herself questioning every life choice that had led to this commitment. The wind cut through the day, and the hill felt steeper than memory suggested. But reaching the top marked the first reminder of the entire challenge: meaningful achievements rarely feel easy at the start.

Walk 4: The First Scramble – and the Mud Incident

The fourth outing included Alison’s first vertical scramble of the year, and it genuinely almost ended the challenge before it had begun. A cliff face, loose footing and fear combined into a perfect storm. Mark, meanwhile, managed to get himself stuck in mud with comic timing that helped cut through the tension.

Walk 9: The Hardest Walk

Some days simply demand more. This one brought bogs, sideways rain, slippery stones and unnervingly steep edges. It became the day that tested grit more than any other. There is a particular kind of determination that emerges when turning back feels harder than continuing — and this walk captured that completely.

Walk 10: Loughrigg – A Slip, a Graze and Torn Leggings

A seemingly gentle start turned into a sudden slide down the side of the hill, leaving Alison with grazed skin, torn leggings and a sharp reminder that even well-trodden paths can be unpredictable.

Walk 11: The “Rock” That Wasn’t

Along the route lay what looked like a large boulder. It wasn’t. It was a very decomposed cow. The discovery produced the fastest pace of the entire challenge.

The Injury Timeline

By late June, Alison was walking with a protruding disc and a pinched sciatic nerve. The pain varied from a persistent ache to acute loss of sensation. And yet, the walks continued — slowly, steadily, and with careful self-management. Each summit reached during this period stands as a testament to perseverance under real physical pressure.

Walk 20: Knott Rigg and Ard Crag – Walking With No Feeling in One Leg

This was the walk where Alison jumped a stream, damaged a nerve and completely lost feeling in one leg for the rest of the day. It was frightening and destabilising — but she still completed both summits. The injury later linked to a slipped disc identified on 26 June, meaning eight of the forty Wainwrights were completed with a significant spinal injury. She continued walking with osteopath supervision until her discharge on 8 September.

Walk 22: The Most Meaningful – Carlside and Skiddaw

This walk was completed on what would have been the ninety-sixth birthday of Andre Zaluski, the founding chairperson of Young at Heart ULO CIC, a mountain rescue volunteer and the person who first introduced Alison to mountain walking. In 2012, the YAH family joined Andre for his eighty-third birthday walk up Skiddaw — an unforgettable moment of shared achievement.

Thirteen years later, Mark’s best friend Phil and his daughter Yasmine joined Alison and Mark for this tribute climb, making it Yasmine’s very first Wainwright. The group shared stories about Andre, reflected on his extraordinary spirit and talked about the beauty of the Lakes that he had once shown them.

The summit was completely “in the clag” — a thick, featureless fog. There were no views, just the soft white embrace of cloud. In many ways, it was perfect. It stripped away distraction and turned the moment into something quietly profound.

At the top, the group celebrated exactly as they had with Andre: cake and champagne. Others in the summit shelter joined in, accepting slices of cake and small glasses with warmth and curiosity. It felt like passing on a baton, sharing the spirit of a man who had once inspired the same sense of adventure in Alison and the wider Young at Heart community.

Walk 25: The Final Climb Without a Trig Point

After months of climbing, training, planning, setbacks, recovery and determination, the final summit came with an unexpected twist: no trig point. The anticlimax had its own humour — after 39 peaks, the final one simply… ended. No monument, no marker, just the quiet sense of completion.

What the Numbers Tell Us

Beyond the stories, the year’s walking produced a substantial set of statistics that reflect the scale of the achievement.

Totals

• Total walking time: 5,609 minutes (93.5 hours)
• Total distance: 206.05 km (128 miles)
• Total elevation climbed: 11,445 metres (the height of Everest, plus an extra 600m)
• Total steps: 310,486
• Average pace: 28 minutes per km
• Average heart rate: 128 bpm
• Average temperature walked in: 12°C

Some individual days stood out too:

• Longest walk: 13.8 km on Walla Crag, Bleaberry Fell and High Seat
• Fastest summit: Little Mell Fell in just 51 minutes
• Highest-calorie day: Skiddaw and Carlside (2,989 calories)
• Most elevation in a single day: 867 metres on Walk 22

Across the year, Alison experienced heat, rain, wind, and everything the Lake District could throw at her — but the numbers confirm an achievement built through consistency and tenacity.

A Tribute to Ageing Well

The 40 for 40 challenge celebrates more than physical fitness. It is a reminder that ageing is not about decline, but adaptation. It is about continuing to try, to explore, to challenge fears and to seek purpose — even when circumstances are difficult.

This challenge honours the determination seen every day in local people living with dementia and in those who support them. The strength required to face memory loss, uncertainty, change and grief is immeasurable. Alison has often said that if even a fraction of that strength could be reflected in the challenge, then the effort was worthwhile.

A Community Effort

The walk raised over £1,000, with the final total to be confirmed at the end of the year. These funds directly support Young at Heart ULO CIC’s dementia activity groups, peer support sessions, exercise classes, Cycling Without Age rides, and community outreach — keeping vital services free or low-cost for those who need them most.

What Comes Next

The full collection of photos and videos from the challenge will be shared as a countdown to Alison’s next birthday across all Young at Heart ULO CIC social media channels — including YouTube — offering an uplifting, reflective look back at every summit.

Suggestions for future fundraising challenges are warmly welcomed. Whether the next adventure involves walking, creativity, community connection or something entirely unexpected, the goal remains the same: supporting people living with dementia, celebrating ageing, and building a stronger, kinder community.

Support the Work

Donations can still be made online, including Gift Aid where eligible. The final total raised and an update on how the funds will be used will be shared at the end of the year.

Useful Resources

• Young at Heart ULO CIC – Community Activities and Dementia Support
• Cycling Without Age UK – Trishaw Rides and Community Engagement
• Adventure Smart – Safety Tips for Fell and Mountain Walking