Scaling a mountain for the RNLI

A LIFEBOAT volunteer in Shetland is embarking on a 250-mile cycle and hill climbing adventure this summer to raise funds for the RNLI.

Elizabeth Atia, who stays in Aith, will set off from the most northerly lifeboat station on 13 June to cycle to the foot of Ben Nevis before climbing Scotland’s highest mountain.

The 39 year old mother of three said climbing a mountain again was one of the 40 things she wanted to do before turning 40 later this year.

“I haven’t climbed a mountain since I was 19 (one of the Canadian Rockies), and so I thought it’s nigh time I climb one again. My nearest mountain is Ben Nevis.

“This, coupled with the fact I was gifted an old hybrid bike which rekindled my childhood love of cycling, turned into the idea of cycling from my home to Ben Nevis.

“This is the sort of personal challenge folk tend to do for charity, and so I thought I’d try to raise a few pennies for the RNLI – the charity that saves lives at sea.”

A well-known food blogger , Atia has been a volunteer with the Aith lifeboat since 2012 and also acts as the lifeboat’s local press officer.

“The RNLI is completely funded by donations and I’d like to do my bit to help raise money for crew training and equipment,” she said.

“Every penny will help train the volunteer RNLI crew who drop everything when their pagers go off to assist our men and women in need at sea.”

Donations can be made via her fundraiser website or with the help of a paper sponsor form in the Eid Community Co-operative, in Aith.

Her progress can be followed via her own website at http://www.elizabethskitchendiary.co.uk/2016/03/ben-nevis-cycle-plans.html/