Newark man to walk from his Mansfield home up Mt Snowdon to raise funds for Beaumond House Hospice
A hiker is taking on a 140-mile challenge in his grandfather’s memory, and is also aiming to poignantly scatter his grandparents’s ashes at the summit.
Declan Mulligan, born and raised in Newark, will be walking from his home in Mansfield to Mount Snowdon in support of Beaumond House Hospice.
He has decided to take on this challenge as his grandfather, Tom Hughes, served as a mountain rescuer on Snowdon for seven years as well as serving as a firefighter in Anglesey.
During Tom’s final weeks, he was cared for by the team at Beaumond House in Newark, which inspired Declan to raise funds for the charity.
He said: “We never really got to go there or do anything with him because of his age, but he always used to speak quite highly about it, and he's always been proud to be from Wales.
“When he said that he wanted his ashes to scatter there, I thought it would be a good challenge to just walk there and raise some money for charity, and the hospice helped so much with him, so it is just nice to give back.
“Me and my two brothers used to spend time there growing up, our grandad used to love talking to us about just how proud he was to be Welsh.
“He lived in Newark and spent all his time there with my grandma, but he never forgot where he was from, and we have always loved going to Wales as a family, so I think he'd be really happy to have this done for him.”
Declan has been training consistently for the past six weeks and doing about 75 to 100 miles a week, alongside his full-time job as an electrician, and is aiming to walk the distance over six days.
He will be leaving his home on Saturday (August 2) and is hoping to reach Snowdon on Friday (August 8), where he will be joined by friends and family to climb to the summit and scatter the ashes of his late grandparents, Tom and Jean Hughes.
The walk will be split into four sections, with the first one being five 10km walks, the second day will be split into four 10km walks, on the third day he will walk three 10km walks, the fourth day four 10km and the last few miles will be completed on the last stretch before reaching Mt Snowdon.
Declan has created a YouTube channel to show his training, from completing full marathons, speaking with a fitness coach and seeking advice from experienced charity walkers. His channel is @DeclanMulligan-t8v.
He added: “I'm more excited to start than to complete it. I think it'll be a bit of an emotional one when I'm finished.”
Declan’s mother, Rachel Mulligan said: “Watching Declan walk all those miles for his grandad — my dad — fills me with enormous pride and emotion.
“It’s been a deeply personal journey, and I believe it’s given him space to start processing his grief while doing something that matters.
“He’s taken on an incredible physical and emotional challenge, and done it with quiet determination.”
Through his JustGiving Page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/mansfield-snowdon?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL and cash collections, Declan has raised nearly £500 for the charity.
“Even if one person gets better treatment because we've raised some money, it'll be a testament to what my granddad believed in,” Declan added.
His brother Tommy will also be raising funds for Beaumound House Hospice through a boxing match at Nottingham Palais, supported by RAGE Fight Academy and Camp.
Tommy lives and works in Iraq and has been training for the match for several months, having won 13 out of 15 heavyweight fights.
However, this match has another meaning for him as he will also be doing it in honour of his grandad.
Rachel Mulligan added: “When Dad passed during COVID, Tommy was working in Saudi and couldn’t return for the funeral.
“This fight is his way of honouring his grandad’s memory and facing his own grief — through something they both shared a passion for.
“We’re so proud of the boys, and the whole family and many friends will be behind them all the way.”