Wigan dad to climb England's highest mountain in 80kg diving suit - just seven weeks after another tough charity challenge
A Wigan dad who took on a gruelling physical challenge for charity just a few weeks ago is already gearing up to push his body to the limit once again.
Nigel Brookwell has become well-known for taking on outrageous challenges to raise money for good causes, including pushing a hospital bed around the course at Run Wigan Festival and crawling all the way from Wigan to Standish.
At the end of June he raised more than £8,000 for Daffodils Dreams by taking on what he called a “painathon” – pulling a 15-tonne barge along the canal from Wigan Pier to his home village of Crooke, walking barefoot carrying a 35kg sandbag to Sherrington’s Bar in Swinley and crawling on his hands and knees to the Boar’s Head pub in Standish.
And while many people would still be putting up their feet and recovering from such a mammoth effort, 53-year-old Nigel is instead preparing for his next fund-raiser.
He is set to walk up England’s highest mountain Scafell Pike as part of a relay team – while wearing a vintage deep-sea diving suit which weighs around 80kg.
Nigel has previously done fund-raising walks in the suit, including from Wigan to Standish, and was asked to join the team in May.
He said: “I said if I came through my Wigan challenge unscathed, I would do it with them. I could have got injured doing the barge pull and everything, but I came through it alright.
“I was very tired, but my energy levels have recovered now and the awful blisters on the soles of my feet healed up quickly.
"It was hard to get my head around doing another challenge when I have just done this – it was a bit overwhelming at times.”
The five-strong team will be Sub-Sea to Summit, so there will be a swim in a lake before they begin to walk up Scafell Pike.
Each person will walk 100m, before getting out of the diving suit and passing it to the next walker.
They will wear a harness and be supported by other members of the team to ensure their safety.
Nigel said: “It’s horrendously heavy and when you are going up a steep incline like a mountain, it’s dangerous as well.”
The challenge takes place on Saturday, August 15 and could take around 12 hours.
Nigel and the team previously did the same thing at Ben Nevis in 2018 and Snowdon in 2022, so this will complete their own version of the three peaks challenge.
They are raising money for Wasdale Mountain Rescue and Florence Moffat-Charles, who is fund-raising for a liver transplant in Turkey.
She has a rare liver disease called primary sclerosing cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of liver cancer, but is not eligible for a transplant in the UK.
Nigel said: “Florence is aware of what we are doing and is very thankful. Hopefully she and her husband will be waiting for us when we get back down the mountain. It’s very motivating and, to be honest, very humbling.”
Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/f/help-florence-get-a-lifesaving-liver-transplant.