Climb every mountain…

Bradford’s students’ union (UBU) reached new heights when its disability friendly Take a Hike group conquered the UK’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis.

The achievement was all the more remarkable as among those completing the gruelling 17-hour hike, much of it over rough terrain, were young people from the local Bradford community with disabilities such as blindness and impaired day-to-day mobility.

Take a Hike, consisting of students and UBU staff, volunteered to assist young disabled adults from the local Bradford community in completing what was easily the group’s biggest challenge to date.

Next adventure

The trip was originally planned for last year but was delayed by to the national lockdown. Since restrictions began easing, the group was able to resume training for the challenge in line with covid protocols. For the past few months, the group has been undertaking hikes to improve general fitness for the challenge, including scaling several smaller, but still substantial, mountains such as Skiddaw and Ingleborough, before making the trip to Fort William in Scotland.

Adam Tasker, UBU Student Development leader, said: “It was a great trip and we are proud of all our hikers. It was a fantastic achievement considering the group only had four weeks to train. Now we are starting to plan the next adventure, whatever this may be."

Take a Hike was founded by UBU to bring together students with and without a disability for social learning activities. Over the years the group has expanded its activities to work with local community projects in Bradford, working with the community to increase wellbeing and general health through walking.

The group is supported by UBU and is able to complete these challenges through community fundraising. So far the group has raised over £2,000 and is seeking donations to be able to continue its important work. Anyone interested in donating can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/TaHBenNevis