Grandmother treks one of the world's highest mountain ranges for Flying Colours

A grandmother from Holnest near Sherborne has raised £2,500 for Yeovil District Hospital’s Flying Colours Appeal after completing the Annapurna Trek in Nepal.

Jeannie Letts is no stranger to the Women’s Hospital which will benefit from the appeal – her daughters Lucy and Jade were born there as was her granddaughter Amelia. Jeannie, who is 57 and lives in Boys Hill, attended a presentation made by a former Nepal trekker earlier this year. She said: “She completely sold it to me – the photographs were amazing.”

Ten months later Jeannie had raised £2,500 for Flying Colours and was off on the trek with 12 other charity walkers from around the world taking her own very special photographs. She said: “I loved going up - every time you got to a corner there was another wow moment - it was everything I had hoped for.”

The uphill journey, which reached 3,500 metres, took the group four days but it was half the time to get back down. Jeannie said: “I am glad I had done some training – I had been on the treadmill at home and walked up and down the hills at Golden Cap at Lulworth with the dog to help me get fit. Although the uphill was hard work it was much more difficult going down as it was very slippery.

“The porters were incredible – they were tiny yet they carried everything from the kitchen sink on their backs supported by a strap on their foreheads. We were treated to two three course meals every day and they were excellent. It was always freezing at night and one night the tent froze over and I couldn’t get out!

“We were also privileged to meet a group of Nepalese children from one of the villages. Just like in the Pied Piper a group of 40 youngsters arrived at the village. They danced and sang and we taught them how to do the Hokey Cokey and other songs – they loved seeing their pictures on our cameras.”

Once the trek was completed Jeannie and her companions took a flight over Mount Everest. She said: “It was awesome and very special as was the whole experience. If anyone gets the opportunity to go on this trek I would say don’t think twice just go – it most definitely lived up to expectations. As well as raising money for Flying Colours it was also really good for me, I was one of the older trekkers and on my own, it boosted my confidence and I am now hoping to do another trek in the not too distant future.

“ I could not have done this without the support of family, friends and local businesses. A great deal of my sponsorship money was raised through a supper party I held for 80 ladies which was supported with raffle prizes donated by local businesses. I would particularly like to thank my employer The Dorset Blue Soup Company and EMU Technologies, Think Pink, Semifactors and Westbury Packaging.”

The Flying Colours Appeal is aiming to raise £2.4 million to enhance the Women's Hospital which serves around 10,000 women of all ages each year. The first benefits are in hand - a café is due to open this month and a birthing pool in February.  If you wish to learn more about The Flying Colours Appeal, please visit http://www.yeovilhospital.nhs.uk/health-services/flying-colours.htm

Jeannie is pictured with her training partner, Crumble.