DAWLISH grandad-to-be Allan Pyne has stepped in to take on the Three Peaks Challenge in aid of a children’s charity.

Allan’s daughter, Hannah, was due to take part in the unique Three Peaks Challenge by rail and with the aim of climbing the highest mountains in England, Wales and Scotland.

She had intended to take on the impressive challenge with her husband, Finn, her father-in-law and Finn’s best man.

The news that Hannah would be expecting Allan’s latest grandchild in August delighted the family but scuppered her plans to take part in the big walk.

Her dad, Allan, has stepped in to take on the challenge and raise money for the Railway Children Charity.

Allan, aged 57, says: ‘I am a railwayman of over 35 years living in Dawlish. I now work part time for GWR between Dawlish and Paignton, helping disabled and elderly passengers on and off trains in the School holidays.

‘I am participating in the Railway Children Charity Three Peaks Challenge by rail.

‘This year will be the 20th year the Railway Children have done this unusual way doing the three peaks challenge.

‘It is the only three peaks challenge to do it by train.

‘I have done it twice before once in 2005 and again 2010.

Hannah and Finn live on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, her father-in-law lives near Grantown-on-Spey and Dom the best man in Fife, Scotland.

Now Hannah has dropped out, I have taken her place and will be doing my bit raising some of the £4,000 needed to take part.

The challenge starts at 7pm at Crewe on Thursday, June 15, and finishes on Saturday, June 17.

‘There will be 50 teams of four letting the train take the strain!’ says allan.

‘We will be joining 200 other walkers that will board a specially donated train supported by Porterbrook. We will eat, sleep and be patched up by the on board volunteers on the train.

‘We leave Crewe at 7pm on the Thursday evening, we then head to Bangor arriving at 9pm, a short bus trip takes us to the Snowdonia National Park, to start our climb up Mount Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) which is climbed at night. After a Bacon Butty we travel on to Scafell Pike, via the Ravenglass & Eskdale Narrow gauge Steam Railway.

Friday evening the train departs at 7pm, after, if we have been lucky a pint in the Ratty Arms pub.

‘After a meal we sleep, while we travel though the night, arriving at Fort William in the early hours of Saturday morning (4am), another short bus trip to the foot of Ben Nevis (Beinn Nibheis).

‘We climb the highest mountain in Great Britain, which even in June has snow on the summit.

‘Then it’s fireworks, smiles, medals and a party on the way back to Crewe and a well earned rest.’

‘The Railway Children Charity helps to find, help and reunite runaway Children that can be found sleeping rough in railway and bus stations across the United Kingdom and sets up class rooms in spare station buildings and pays for teachers to give education to children working / begging on the railways across Asia and Africa.

► You can donate to Allan and the group’s JustGiving page by following them at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Allan-Pyne2