Growing Well are a Cumbrian based mental health charity who provide support to individuals struggling with some aspect of their mental health through practical, meaningful activity in their horticultural enterprises.

Beneficiaries attend for one day per week for up to a year and leave equipped with new learning and skills and better able to manage their own mental wellbeing on an ongoing basis.

They receive no statutory funding and as a Charity have to fundraise all of their running costs.

In 2023 Growing Well opened their second site in Tebay and in 2024 added a third site in Egremont to complement their original site in Kendal ensuring that no individual in Cumbria is more than one hour away from being able to access their unique support.

This year marks the charity’s 20th birthday and so a group of LSCFT and Hill Dickinson colleagues are braving a 5 peaks challenge to raise money for them.

Setting off from Old Dungeon Ghyll car park in the Lake District, we will ascend to our first peak, Rossett Pike (651m above sea level). Next, we will walk to Allen Crags (785m above sea level), then to Great End (910m above sea level), then on to Ill Crag (935m above sea level) and finally we will walk to Scafell Pike (978m above sea level and England’s highest peak).

In total, we will walk approximately 20k throughout the day, ascend 1390m and be out in the fresh air for 8-10 hours – this is not for the faint hearted!