Kit is no stranger to adventure having climbed the Matterhorn at 65 and Napes Needle in the Lake District at 85. Both Kit and his wife Valerie have been keen mountaineers all their lives and were founder members of the Gloucester Mountaineering Club.
Kit comes from a mountaineering family and climbing Napes Needle was particularly significant to him. “Napes Needle was first climbed by Haskett-Smith in the 1880s and has been a ‘must do’ for English rock-climbers ever since," points out Kit. “It is currently classified as ‘Severe’; the difficult bit is known as the ‘Mantlepiece’ which requires one to step up onto a narrow ledge on a steep rock face just below the top with no handholds. My uncle Siegfried Herford apparently climbed it solo at the age of 16 without telling anyone in advance! He was killed in France aged 24 in 1916. His most famous climbing feat was leading the first ascent of the Central Buttress on Scafell - still today a formidable climb (which I would certainly never attempt myself)”.
Living on the outskirts of Cheltenham, Kit is all too aware of the disappearance of our countryside and landscapes. Kit wasa founder member and, until recently, long-time Chairman of 'LEGLAG', the very effective pressure group which has managed to protect countryside to the south of Cheltenham, one of very few areas adjoining the town neither in the Green Belt or AONB.
Kit’s enthusiasm, passion and energy are infectious, and we hope you will support him in his desire to protect our stunning local countryside for generations to come. If Kit is prepared to strap himself to the wing of a plane, at 90, in his pursuit to protect our landscapes will you consider making a donation to support Kit and CPRE Gloucestershire? Countryside lost is lost forever. You can support Kit by clicking this link (or type it in a search engine):
