Newbury man hopes to raise charity funds in Himalayan trek
Simon Quinton Smith will trek to base camp of world’s third-highest mountain.
A NEWBURY man has jetted off to the Himalayas for a charity trek around the world’s third-highest mountain.
Simon Quinton Smith, along with two friends, set off on Sunday, to undertake a 24-day hike to the Kanchenjunga north base camp in Nepal to raise funds for the Greenfingers charity.
The 62-year-old, of Newbury-based chartered surveyors Quinton Edwards, is putting aside his home comforts for more than three weeks, in aid of the charity.
The group will trek a total of 250km through the inhospitable region, reaching an altitude of more than 6,000m.
“People who know me know I quite often do stupid things,” he said.
“I agreed to do it because a friend asked me and thought it was a great way to raise funds for the charity.
“I’m not sure how I’ll deal with sleeping in a tent on a mountain for three weeks, or getting changed in the freezing cold mornings.
“I may come back and wish I hadn’t gone, but then I may come back and think it was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
While the difficulty of the task is not lost on Mr Quinton Smith, he is determined to see it through, to raise the vital funds for the Greenfingers A Million Moments Appeal, which aims to raise £1m to create outdoor spaces in children’s hospices across the UK.
Greenfingers is the nominated charity for the garden centre and horticultural industry for which Quinton Edwards provides property advice.
After seeing the benefits that the charity provides first- hand, Mr Quinton Smith is determined to help raise as much as possible.
He said: “You see the joy that they get out of the gardens, not just the children but their parents and their siblings too.
“It means they can go there and kick or throw a ball about.
“I’ll be doing a series of fundraisers over the next year and hope to raise as much as possible for them.”
If you would like to support Mr Quinton Smith and Greenfingers visit his JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Simon-Quinton-Smith1