FOUR Ayrshire young farmers have raised £5000 for charity after completing the gruelling National Three Peaks Challenge.

Stewart Dunlop, Neil Mair, Ewan Corbett and Neil Sloan, aged between 22 and 26, and all members of Mauchline Young Farmers Club, climbed three mountains; Snowdon, in Wales; Scafell Pike, in England and Ben Nevis, in Scotland, in less than 24 hours, in order to raise funds for the Beatson Cancer Charity, which is close to Mauchline YFC members' hearts.

"We first discussed the three peak challenge over a few pints in the pub one Saturday night, as we all wanted to do something different, yet challenging, to raise money for charity.

"A date was then agreed far in advance in order to give us enough time to get some much-needed training done," explained Mr Dunlop.

To prepare, the boys climbed some of the Scottish Munros, each as challenging as the last, and realised they had set themselves quite a task.

Mr Dunlop continued: "We soon began to realise that the challenge we had chosen was not going to be as straightforward as we thought, and as the date we had set got closer, nerves and excitement began to set in."

Leading up to the three peaks challenge, the weather turned from sunshine and clear skies to high-speed wind and heavy rain, but the boys were determined to continue.

Spending the Friday evening in a cottage in the Welsh countryside, far away from nightlife and mischief, the boys headed for Snowden early on Saturday, July 28, and started their first climb at 9:01am.

With limited time, they did this as quickly as possible in order to give them more time later on in the challenge.

"We were almost running at some points, as we knew energy levels would decrease as the day went on," Mr Dunlop commented.

Taking equal turns at driving to make it as fair for everyone, the boys journeyed onto Scafell Pike, arriving earlier than anticipated. They completed it as soon as they were able, before finally arriving at Ben Nevis at 2:00am on Sunday, July 29.

Explaining the team's thoughts on reaching the final mountain, Mr Dunlop said: "As we pulled on our soggy boots, and soaking jackets, and strapped our head torches on, we all looked at each other, knowing we were mad for attempting this, but we had so many friends and family supporting us that we were determined to complete it."

As the group reached the top of Ben Nevis, the weather continued to get worse, with a wind chill temperature of -6°, and wind speeds reaching around 70mph.

"Needless to say, we didn't hang around at the top for too long, and eventually, on the way back down, which was harder on each mountain than it was going up them, the fog broke away and revealed a beautiful morning, overlooking Fort William, which was an amazing experience," explained Mr Dunlop.

The boys reached the bottom at 6:18am, completing the challenge in 21 hours 13 minutes.

"It is something I will never forget doing, even though it was so mentally and physically challenging, and all four of us are very proud of what we have achieved, particularly the amount of money we raised for the Beatson Cancer Charity," he added.

The boys will hand over the charity cheque at Mauchline YFC's next club event.