Supergran Val to take on new Himalayan challenge

BEING a grandmother to seven boisterous grandchildren would be more than enough to keep most of us occupied for hours.

Not so for Prickwillow super gran Val Pocock, however, as she begins her preparations to trek through the Himalayan Annapurna mountain range in Nepal for charity!

Val has already begun her training for the November climb and is aiming to raise more than �3,000 for Macmilan Cancer Support.

Valerie said: “I am really looking forward to the challenge in such a beautiful part of the world, while also doing my bit for such a worthy cause”.

She will be walking and climbing for an average of seven hours a day for seven days, climbing to a height of more than 9,000 feet, with some rustic camping along the way, before reaching Kathmandu.

With Prickwillow not renowned for its hills, Val has been carrying out the early stages of her training at Box Hill in Surrey.

In 2005 she climbed 14,000 feet in the Andes to Machu Picchu in Peru, and in 2007 she trekked in the Yanshan Mountains and up Heavens Ladder on the Great Wall of China, on both occasions raising more than �5,000.

If you can support Val in her fundraising, visit her fund raising page http://www.justgiving.com/Val-Pocock