A group of women in Grasmere near Ambleside are aiming to once again complete 9000 steps a day for a local hospice.

Organised by the Grasmere Women's Institute, the fundraising efforts have become an annual tradition as they look to support St Mary's Hospice.

The scheme will run for the entirety of February, with the group hoping that they can raise at least £1000 for the Ulverston-based charity.

Explaining why they have set the target of 9,000 steps, the WI said: "The running costs for St Mary’s were £9,000 per day when we did our first challenge back in lockdown.

"The hospice is a much loved, much needed local resource, but only a small portion of the money needed to run it comes from the NHS and government."

The challenge is organised every year by the group of friends who regularly raise money for St Mary's - whether that be through walking or the occasional burlesque night.

The group have more than enough experience to know how to get through the challenge, with it now being the fourth edition of the enterprise.

"Since the first one, we have done two more stepping challenges, a squatting challenge, clothes swaps, plant and preserves sales, and other social events.

"Two members, Louise and Jacky, even climbed Scafell Pike by night - in total we have raised £30,000 since February 2021."

This time around, they are hoping as many people as possible take part and have even extended the olive branch to men in the area to see them get walking too.

"You can get outdoors and step, or dance around your kitchen," the group explained. 

"Climb mountains, run up and down stairs, walk round shopping centres, get on the treadmill - just try to do those steps!"

At the time of writing, the group were already close to reaching their £1000 target, but past efforts have proved that they are more than capable of exceeding that with the support of the local community.

You can find a link to their JustGiving page here.