Big hearted Ed raises £800 for the elderly by climbing 1,136 flights of stairs during coronavirus crisis

Burnham-On-Sea fundraiser Ed James has raised over £800 for Age UK’s Coronavirus Emergency Appeal by climbing 1,136 flights of stairs in his home during one day of the lockdown.

Ed, who previously went to The King Alfred School Academy in Highbridge, had been due to take part in the British Three Peaks challenge.

But when that was cancelled he came up with an alternative idea of doing a physical challenge in his home instead!

Talking to Burnham-On-Sea.com, Ed said: “For my birthday this year, I had decided to walk the British Three Peaks but, along with countless others, I had to put my plans on hold due to to the COVID-19 lockdown.”

“I decided to do all three of the peaks in one day… at home on Good Friday.”

“I walked the equivalent distance of the cumulative heights of Scafell Pike, Snowdon and Ben Nevis on my stairs at home to raise as much money as possible for Age UK.”

Speaking to Burnham-On-Sea.com Ed said, “Isolation and loneliness are too often the daily norm for many elderly people. With the UK in partial lockdown, most people have now had a taste of what that feels like, and we cannot abandon the elderly to the idea that they don’t matter.”

“The height of the three peaks is Scafell Pike at 978 Metres; Snowdon at 1085 Metres; and Ben Nevis at 1345 Metres, making a total of 3408 Metres or 1,136 flights of stairs.”

“Most people will feel lonely at some point in their lives. It’s a deeply personal experience that – in most cases – will thankfully pass.”

“Sadly, 2.65m older people feel they have no one to turn to for help and around 3.9m older people consider TV to be their main form of company.”

Ed also raised £2,500 for Shelter last year by walking 160 miles from London to Burnham-on-Sea, as covered by Burnham-On-Sea.com