A legendary mountaineer and landscape photographer joined forces to organise a visually stunning vigil at one of the Lake District's most iconic peaks.

Mountain-guide John Fleetwood, who had previously worked on projects with homeless charity Manna House, and photo-artist Jonny Gios, both from Kendal, led a vigil to the top of Great Gable on a wet and windy Saturday that was well worth the effort, according to Jonny.

"There were eight of us, eight brave souls," he said.

"It took us most of the day to get up and down.

"The weather going up was pretty abysmal. It wasn't raining by the time we got to the top but it was really windy and cold - ironically the weather cleared up afterwards.

"I'm not really a mountaineer and thought this is going to be a tough slog - it's not easy to get to or up, but as I was going up, I was just thinking that this is nothing compared to what people are having to do in Ukraine, fleeing and going over places they have never been before in much tougher terrain. 

The Westmorland Gazette: FLAGS: The group all had weather-friendly Ukraine flags. Credit Jonny GiosFLAGS: The group all had weather-friendly Ukraine flags. Credit Jonny Gios

"We took a few flags up there that we held up. John shared a poem that he'd written, we had a short prayer.

"We also had two smoke grenades that were blue and yellow - we thought big flags might get blown away and it was nice to do something a bit creative.

"It was John Fleetwood's idea initially - he phoned me and said he just needed to do something for Ukraine and if I was thinking along the same lines as him."

Jonny said he was also calling councillors at the time to see what was being organised, as Carlisle had done a vigil, Kendal Castle was lit up, and (Councillor) Eamonn Hennessy organised a Kendal town centre vigil that the pair attended.

"John just thought because of the significance of Great Gable, and the history behind it being a mountaineering memorial for those people who had passed away previously, he felt that Great Gable was one of those places that it would be a really good message to send to the Ukrainian people," he said.

The Westmorland Gazette: MEMORIAL: The summit memorial is dedicated to climbers who died in The Great War. Credit Jonny GiosMEMORIAL: The summit memorial is dedicated to climbers who died in The Great War. Credit Jonny Gios

"We can show them we're not just standing in town halls and civic places but actually standing on top of mountains to stand with you in the persecution that you're going through at the moment.'"