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From north-east to far east: Mums raise more than £80,000 for ARCHIE with Great Wall of China trek

Jennifer Anderson and Avril Gray, has raised more than £80,000 for ARCHIE by climbing Kilimanjaro, walking the Great Wall of China, and more. Picture by Kenny Elrick.
Jennifer Anderson and Avril Gray, has raised more than £80,000 for ARCHIE by climbing Kilimanjaro, walking the Great Wall of China, and more. Picture by Kenny Elrick.

A pair of Fraserburgh mums have walked along the Great Wall of China to raise more than £80,000 for sick children in the north-east of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland.

Avril Gray and Jennifer Anderson visited the ancient fortification in September, and spent five gruelling days marching along it to raise funds for The ARCHIE Foundation and the children’s cancer charity It’s Good 2 Give.

And thanks to their efforts in China and a fundraising lunch at The Marcliffe, the duo have raised a grand total of more than £100,000.

Around £80,000 will go to ARCHIE – the official charity of the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH) – and more than £20,000 has been donated to It’s Good 2 Give.

Mrs Gray, 50, said: “We had the idea at about the end of last year, and ever since then we’ve been training to get ready.

“We arrived in China on September 19, and the walk took about five days.

“The wall itself was completely unlike anything we expected.”

Mrs Anderson, 56, said: “It was really, really exhausting. It was really narrow, and there’s absolutely no health and safety there at all, it was sheer drops on either side.

“But we didn’t cheat once, and cried and laughed the whole way.

“I’ve come back quite humbled, what we saw, what we did, the places we were staying – it was a life-changing experience.”

Mrs Gray added: “I’m amazed we’ve managed to raise this much. We never, ever thought we’d make this much money.”

David Cunningham, the chief executive of The ARCHIE Foundation said: “At a time when we know that the economy in the north-east is having a difficult time, Avril and Jennifer held an amazingly successful fundraising event at the Marcliffe on a Sunday lunchtime, raising a huge amount of money.

“Then, not satisfied with that, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime walking the Great Wall of China – and all for the benefit of two great causes.

“The ARCHIE Foundation is hugely grateful for this amazing donation which will help us to make a big difference for local sick children in hospital and in the community.

“On behalf of the children, their families and the medical staff who will all benefit we thank them both very much indeed.”