Mountaineer tops peaks of England in a week

A mountaineer scaled the highest peaks of England in one week.

Alan Hinkes, 56, managed to climb to the top of the highest hills in each of the 39 shire counties.

The feat took him eight days to complete, finishing at Helvellyn in the Lake District.

Mr Hinkes, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire believes he completed the adventure in a faster time than any previous attempt.

He had to enlist a helicopter to help him cover the distances between peaks. During the climb, which began on August 28, Mr Hinkes worked his way from Cornwall to Northumberland taking in the likes of Kinder Scout in Derbyshire, Old Man of Coniston in Lancashire and England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike (978m).

The outdoor equipment consultant, who has already climbed the 14 highest mountains in the world, undertook his latest challenge to raise money and awareness for Mountain Rescue England and Wales.

The organisation provides a mountain and cave rescue service made up of 3,500 volunteers. Mr Hinkes said: “I am thrilled to have completed the challenge within the deadline I set myself.

“A few factors were against us such as traffic over the bank holiday but luckily the weather held out and with the help of a last minute chopper we were able to scale the final peak in good time.”

Tim Gould, marketing director at Casio, which supported Mr Hinkes climbs, said: “We are delighted to have been part of him achieving the tough challenge and record he set himself,” he added.