"I thought afterwards I'd want to chuck my bike off of Ben Nevis, but looking back on it all, it was such a great experience", said a Mountbatten Hampshire fundraiser who cycled 440 miles between the UK's three highest peaks and climbed them all.

"I wasn't even that keen a cyclist, but I wanted something I would have to really push myself to achieve and wouldn't be able to just turn up on the day and do", said Matt Simms, who took on his bike and hike challenge in memory of his mother-in-law, Lorraine.

Meanwhile, Matt's wife, Kirsty, took on a skydive in honour of her mum. 

Between them, they managed to raise a whopping £3,044. The two were overwhelmingly grateful for "eclipsing the original target".

Matt recalled underestimating just how tough the challenge he had set himself would be and "just how much all of the cycling in between peaks was going to take it out of my legs".

He said: "When I began training, I'd only ever done a couple 100 mile maximum bike rides —  definitely nothing this big, across multiple days.

"The longest day was the last day, when we started at two in the morning to get to Ben Nevis. I don't think we finished the climb and got down from the peak until about five o'clock in the evening — so that day we'd been going for a good 15 hours. 

"It was constant cycling, only to get straight off the bike and into the hike".

With sore and battered legs from the constant effort, Matt's challenge was a difficult one to undertake. It was the wonderful support, from his family and those who donated to his challenge, which helped him push through.

Kirsty's mother, Lorraine, died on New Year's Eve in 2021.

It was the work of Mountbatten Hampshire's community nurses and care providers which meant the family was able to share a special Christmas together.

Matt and Kirsty thanked Mountbatten Hampshire for support at a difficult time.

Matt said: "The ring I carried with me on my challenge contained Lorraine's ashes. Kirsty wore it too, for her skydive.

"It was exactly what we both needed to remind us why we were doing this — and to push through to the end.

"The only real mental barrier I encountered was during that final climb. I had to push through and keep going. I couldn’t get three miles to the end and turn back, could I?

"Little things, like seeing an email with a donation come through helped keep me going, because I felt like if I couldn’t push through to the end I’d be letting everyone down.

"I was getting constant email notifications as people were donating, and it was nice to be able to share everything as updates on social media."