Macclesfield: Marton siblings climb trio of mountains in memory of parents

By Alex Greensmith

28th Sep 2022 | Local News

Harry and Lydia have raised thousands for The Christie, in memory of their late parents. (Image - The Cowell Family)
Harry and Lydia have raised thousands for The Christie, in memory of their late parents. (Image - The Cowell Family)

A brother and sister from Marton have raised over £2000 for The Christie, who have a site in Macclesfield.

Harry Cowell, a 22-year-old dairy farmer, and 24-year-old Lydia Cowell, who works for the Environment Agency, scaled some of England's biggest mountains while raising £2150 for The Christie.

The decided to climb three mountains in a day in memory of their parents who both sadly died from cancer.

They walked nearly 25 miles, just short of a marathon, and ascended over 5,500 feet.

Ingleborough is the second-tallest peak in the Yorkshire Dales, and one of three peaks the local duo ascended. (Image - CC 4.0 bit.ly/3HM6eAj Unchanged Gregorz Gniady)

They completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, braving the peaks of Pen-y-ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, in 12 hours.

They raised funds for The Christie as it was the the specialist cancer centre where both their parents were treated.

Their father Adam Cowell, died at 51 in 2017 after a year-long battle with aggressive lymphoma.

"My parents were both treated with such care and respect by the staff at The Christie," said Lydia.

The Christie Macclesfield opened in December 2021, a few years after their parents passed.

"Dad's cancer was too aggressive to treat, so he spent a lot of time as an inpatient in the hospital. They made sure he was as comfortable as possible, and we couldn't be more grateful for that."

Meanwhile, mother Julie Cowell passed away from secondary breast cancer in 2021.

"Mum received her treatment for secondary breast cancer as an outpatient and the staff were brilliant with her," explained Lydia.

"In addition to the care they had at the hospital, the team also made sure they could both be at home for their final days. That meant the world to us. 

Lydia has spent the last half-decade working as a Flood Resilience Engagement Advisor for the Environment Agency. (Image - LinkedIn)

"Being a younger person who has experienced loss, especially a loss like ours, can feel very isolating.

"Doing this challenge has given us a way of talking about our parents while also giving back to The Christie."

The beloved parents both had careers supporting people with learning disabilities – Adam worked in garden maintenance and Julie was a teacher.

Harry still lives locally in the family home in Marton, but Lydia now lives in Lancaster with her boyfriend.

Fawcett Moor and Pen-y-Ghent, as viewed from As viewed from Dale Head. (Image - CC BY-SA 2.0 Tim Cook / Fawcett Moor and Pen-y-Ghent / Unchanged bit.ly/3Bu82df)

"I saw a poster for the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge and thought that it'd be a perfect challenge for us as we love walking," added Harry.

"We took on on three mountains and walked about 25 miles across the day.. It was really tough, but I knew we would smash it."

Despite growing up in a Macclesfield postcode, The duo were educated at Eaton Bank Academy in Congleton.

"I want to thank Harry and Lydia for their epic hike and the funds raised," said Josh Hughff, sporting events officer at The Christie charity.

Whernside and Ribblehead Viaduct. (Image - Cyberdemon007 bit.ly/3hi1WWf CC 3.0 Not changed)

"They're both so passionate about The Christie and we're really grateful that they've chosen to fundraise for us."

The Christie charity supports the work of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust providing enhanced services over and above what the NHS funds.

This includes money for care and treatment, research, education and extra patient services. Gifts from the public make a huge difference to the care and treatment that The Christie is able to provide to patients and their families.

With The Christie Macclesfield opening last December in Macclesfield, the donation will be greatly appreciated, particularly as £23 million of the £26 million spent for the construction was from public donations.

See Also: Happy birthday to hygienic Macclesfield nail studio

Advertise your business in Macclesfield for FREE on the Macclesfield Nub News Local List.

Macclesfield: Have you signed up for our FREE Friday weekly newsletter? It contains each week's top five Macclesfield news stories, and one EXCLUSIVE article?

Simply enter your email address on this link.

Free from pop-up ads, or unwanted surveys, Macclesfield Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

You can find us on Facebook and Twitter

     

New macclesfield Jobs Section Launched!!
Vacancies updated hourly!!
Click here: macclesfield jobs

Share:

Related Articles

The good cause was established in 2020, and ran from Bethel Baptist Church, Calamine Street, Macclesfield SK11 7HU. (image - Macclesfield Nub News)
Local News

Macclesfield Children and Baby Library launches Xmas presents appeal

Click the red link on this article to donate. (Image - Kickstarter)
Local News

Crowdfunder for new Macclesfield music festival launched

Sign-Up for our FREE Newsletter

We want to provide macclesfield with more and more clickbait-free local news.
To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following.
Help us survive and sign up to our FREE weekly newsletter.

Already subscribed? Thank you. Just press X or click here.
We won't pass your details on to anyone else.
By clicking the Subscribe button you agree to our Privacy Policy.