A BARNSLEY man and his fundraising pals have raised more than £6,000 for a charity close to their hearts by completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks in memory of his wife.
Much-loved Gemma Trickett died on May 25 last year following a cancer battle.
Her husband, Carl, decided that he wanted to raise money for Barnsley Hospice who cared for his wife before she died.
So over the weekend, he was joined by more than a dozen other volunteers to complete the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
The Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge involves hiking Pen-y-ghent (694m), Whernside (736m), and Ingleborough (723m) in the Yorkshire Dales.
Carl told the Chronicle: “She started with bowel cancer in 2023 and then had surgery on it.
“We thought she was great and then went for a two-year check-up and they found that it had spread to her liver.
“She had an operation in November 2024 and obviously it didn’t work.
“It got to around February, March time and she said she didn’t feel right.
“We went back and by that point it was just too late.
“Gemma was in the hospice probably about nine days.
“They don’t get a lot of funding from anywhere so they’ve got to raise all their own money.
“The family decided that as a goodwill gesture we were going to do something.
“It started out with just family but then it expanded into friends as well.”
It resulted in 18 people completing the hike in 11 hours and 50 minutes in what he admits was an ‘emotional’ journey.
He said: “I’m just about getting the feeling back in my legs.
“It was a good but an emotional weekend.
“There were 18 of us in total that did it.
“Houghton Main Cricket Club is a big part of our family’s life and Gemma used to manage the bar there.
“That’s why they were involved.
“We managed to complete the walk in just short of 12 hours.”
The fundraiser is still running and to date more than £7,000 has been raised for the hospice.
Carl is hoping to raise as much as possible in the coming weeks.
He added: “We’ve done quite well so far with what we’ve raised.
“We’ve got just over £7,000 and hopefully that will continue rising.
“We’re gong to leave the page running until the end of the month.
“Anyone who wants to add to the fundraiser is more than welcome to do so.
“We just want to be able to help the hospice.
“The job that they do is obviously not a nice job, but they’re really good at doing it.”
