Buckingham schoolboys climb Scafell Pike whilst tied together for Milton Keynes charity

Two schoolboys from Buckingham have raised funds for a Milton Keynes charity by conquering Scafell Pike.

Cousins, Digby Ridout, 14, and Max Freeman, 15, climbed England’s tallest mountain, while spending an extended part of the trek tied together.

On Friday (1 September) the pair scaled the mountain to raise funds for Ride High Limited.

A fundraising page can be found on Gofundme, the Bucks teenagers have already surpassed the target marker of £500 with 39 people contributing to the total which currently stands at £728.

A rope was tied around the cousins’ legs for both the first mile of the ascent and descent of the challenge.

In an attempt to make sure the youngsters stayed active and did not spend too long indoors while school was out, Digby’s dad set him a series of summer challenges.

One of the more ambitious ones was to climb Scafell Pike, another was to raise money for charity, the duo decided to combine the two challenges.

Neither of the boys were daunted by the prospect of heading up the great mountain. It took them eight hours to get up and down the famous landmark, but both are used to exploring. Digby is a scout, whilst Max is completing his Duke of Edinburgh’s Award certificates.

Both enjoy playing individual and team sports at school, with Digby a keen rock climber and Max being a member of his local triathlon club.

Max and Digby chose to raise funds for Ride High a charity that Digby’s mum, Alex, volunteers for.

Ride High Milton Keynes gives children the opportunity to ride horses, which is seen as a way for them to build confidence and self-esteem.

“Every Wednesday I go in and spend a couple hours there, so it was an obvious charity for them to do sponsorship with,” Alex said.

"You will get children that will come in that are so terrified of getting on a horse, and then by the time they leave us the amount of confidence its given them is quite amazing.”