A DEDICATED brother will be tackling roads, mountains and the sea on a quest to raise money for his critically injured brother’s care.
Mark Taylor will be taking on the challenge during one week in October in order to help his brother, Mathew, who is still lying in a hospital bed in Singapore following an accident in Bali last month.
‘The Quest’ will start with a six mile open water sea swim, which will be undertaken by Mr Taylor and his friend, David Spencer.
The pair will be travelling to the most northerly point of the UK, Dunnet Head, on October 2, where they will swim the six mile distance of Pentland Firth one of the worst stretches of water around the UK shoreline.
Due to the water being a chilly 10 or 12 degrees Celsius, the pair will be wearing two to three millimetre wetsuits, and they will have backup support from a kayak.
“As neither of us has ever swam such a distance either in a pool or open water we are not totally sure of how long the task will take us,” he said.
Barely stopping to dry-off after their first task, Mr Taylor will be joined by friend, Sandy Christie to get started on the second task.
They will be tackling the Three Peaks Challenge, aiming to climb the three tallest peaks in the UK — Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scafell Pike in England, and Snowdon in Wales — in 24 hours.
Once they have completed this task, they will head back to the family home in Overseal for a well-earned rest and a fry up, courtesy of Mark’s step-dad, Simon Moore.
Then on October 4, Mark Taylor and Lorna Stanger will get their cycle helmets on for the last stretch of the quest, the 540 mile journey back to Mr Taylor’s home in Thurso, Scotland, via John O’Groats which they are expecting to take three days.
Mathew Taylor is continuing to do well following his mammoth 18 hour operation to repair bones in his face last week.
He has been moved from the intensive care unit to the high dependency unit of the National University Hospital of Singapore and is currently undergoing MRI and CT scans to monitor his progress.
Mark Taylor said: “Knowing he’s going to be there for quite a bit longer I thought we’re going to have to do something quite miraculous to pay for his care.
“The quest is the equivalent of a double iron man.”
Anyone wishing to support Mark Taylor on his quest can send cheques made payable to ‘Simon Moore’ to Picture Box, 3 Grove Lane, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, KW14 8AE.
Donations can also be made by visiting http://helpmathewtaylor.wordpress.com
