You may have seen Humphrey the camel run in the Reading Half Marathon, but now walkers in Wales were treated to the two-humped creature when he completed a charity mountain hike.
 | | Geoff Clark with Humphrey the camel |
Humphrey conquered three peaks in the Brecon Beacons as part of the Corbett Challenge to raise funds and profile for WaterAid. He climbe Cribyn, Pen-y-Fan and Corn Du, making many new fans along the way. "Once you're under the fur people respond to you in such a different way!" said Geoff Clark from West Reading, one half of Humphrey, "there were lots of walkers out and every five minutes there were groups of people, and those people wanted to have their photo taken." | "Once you're under the fur people respond to you in such a different way." | | Geoff Clark, one half of Humphrey the camel |
Humphrey was even serenaded by a male Welsh choir on the summit of Cribyn. "We came across a group of men standing there and all of a suddent they broke out into song. We didn't know they were a choir at the time," said Geoff. Walking with his 'backside' Martin Brockington, also from Reading, Geoff described the experience as "like being in a furry sauna" but claims the Corbett Challenge (corbett is another term for mountains over 2500 feet) is a lot easier than the ten London marathons they've run.
 | | Gizza kiss! |
Perhaps it's this fitness that led them to climb three mountains rather than the planned one, and in total they raised £650 through sponsorship, and another £81 in cash thanks to walkers they encountered. "What a stunning day we had in Wales," said Geoff, "we were climbing for fun but also for a very important cause." Humphrey was one of 273 teams climbing the 110 corbetts in England and Wales between 12 noon and 2pm on Saturday 16 September. In total the teams raised £80,000 for WaterAid. John Wareing, project manager for the Corbett Challenge, said: "This will really make a difference, helping WaterAid to bring the basic essentials for life - clean water and sanitation - to more of the poorest people in Africa and Asia."
 | | Hitching a ride on Humph |
The biennial event enables WaterAid to help some of the 1.1 billion people in the world today who don't have access to clean water, and over 2.6 billion with nowhere safe to go the toilet.
For more information about WaterAid and the Corbett Challenge visit:
Corbett Challenge >
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Find out more about Humphrey the Camel's antics on his website:
Humphrey the Camel >
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites |
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