Nigel Toplis will walk the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru next spring
The managing director of multi-franchise operation, The Bardon Group, has so far raised over £60,000 for WellChild. He will be joined by friend and colleague Russell Golding, owner of Recognition Express Home Counties North, on the charity trek.
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The pair are no strangers to fundraising expeditions. In 2017, they took on a charity cycle ride from Ho Chi Minh City to Angkor Wat – a trip that took them across two countries and 540km in 90 per cent humidity.
April 2020’s Peruvian adventure will be the sixth challenge the duo will have undertaken, having also previously conquered Mount Kilimanjaro, trekked the Sumatran jungle and walked across the Sahara.
Nigel, who will turn 62 this year, said: “After the 2017 cycle ride, I said that would be my last physical charity exertion. But having been invited to Buckingham Palace in spring this year as a thank you for our fundraising efforts, I thought maybe there was one more adventure in me. It was such a humbling experience that I ended up thinking it was the least I could do.
“Last year WellChild was able to support 1,237 families through its programmes which are funded by the efforts of hundreds of individuals who, like Russell and I, are committed to supporting the amazing work it does.”
One of the greatest potential difficulties Nigel and Russell will face on their four-day hike will be the altitude. Beginning in Cuzco at 3,400 metres above sea level, the classic Inca trail will take the pair through diverse environments including cloud forest, jungle, and alpine tundra and will include the Dead Woman’s Pass at a nail-biting 4,215m.
Donations to WellChild can be made via Nigel’s Just Giving page at justgiving.com
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