Mountain trek to raise charity cash

Pennines' becks and limestone scars form backdrop for Mallerstang Yomp challenge

The wind brings tears to the eyes as I make my cautious way to the brink of Hell Gill, the limestone chasm that once marked the boundary between Yorkshire and old Westmorland. Below, the infant river Eden, at this point called Hell Gill Beck, races north en route for Carlisle and the Solway Firth.

It was here, according to legend, that the 18th-century highwayman Dick Turpin eluded his pursuers by spurring his horse, Black Bess, into a flying leap across the 5ft gap.