Cleanse & Conserve

I've mentioned on Blip before that I'm the England coordinator for the Real 3 Peaks Challenge Cleanse & Conserve event - a coordinated litter collection - a real deep clean - of the UK's three highest peaks.
Well today was the day - and boy did it start out grim - waking at 06:00 to torrential rain - that by the flooding had obviously been going on for a while, I knew that we'd get less volunteers than we were expecting.
But this event is an instructor led initiative - and the good ones turn out whatever the weather. So 22 volunteers made their way up Scafell Pike from Borrowdale, Langdale & Wasdale - and we brought an epic amount of other people's rubbish off the hill. We stopped & chatted to folks about what we were doing - everyone is shocked - but you don't find 100kg* of rubbish unless someone is leaving it behind - and this stuff isn't falling out of peoples pockets - its tucked under rocks - wedged into crevices  - hidden in the summit cairn - someone  is choosing to do this.

The day got steadily nicer (with the exception of a brief interlude for hail & sleet about mid day) - but boy was it cold on the summit - the year is definitely on the turn.
All three groups managed to meet up on the summit have lunch & then take different paths back down - wombling as we went.

I did think about blipping a picture of all the rubbish - but reviewing the day's pics it seemed criminal not to choose this one - Englands summit - as it should look.

* Official figures for the whole event:
Ben Nevis 76kg
Scafell Pike 95Kg
Snowdon 250kg!!