Rasen surgery team in vertical challenge

The road doesn’t come any higher in the UK, as it was a vertical path up Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis.

The team - Dr Therese Nation, Ali, Heidi, Sue, Amanda, Shannon, Gemma and Julia - hope their efforts will net them around £3,000 for the charity.

“It was definitely not a trip for the faint-hearted,” said Julia Weeks.

“For 100 metres, all seemed easy, but we were being lulled into a false sense of security.

“It was a rocky, steep path all the way.

“We assumed there would be flat bits where we could catch our breaths, how wrong we were, it was five miles of uphill walking.”

Unfortunately two of the team encountered problems and had to return to base, with the help of the two-man support team, after completing a quarter of the ascent.

But for the rest of the team, the challenge was worth the effort and at the top it was time to break open the champagne.

Julia added: “It was a real sense of achievement for us all and the views were amazing.

“It was worth carrying the champagne so far – my goodness, it tasted good.”

It is not the first time the team has taken on a challenge for charity.

Last year, they took part in the Moonwalk Marathon, raising a whopping £4,200 for Breast Cancer Research.

“We were so bowled over by the generosity and support of family, friends, neighbours and the community as a whole, that we were inspired to set ourselves this new challenge,” said Julia.

“I’m now thinking about what we can do next year – but don’t tell the rest of the team – they may emigrate!”

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and every hour at least one man dies from the condition.

There is still time to make a donation to the team’s total and help stop this killer.

Call in at the surgery or go online: www.justgiving.com/teams/surgeryteam