It is fair to say 2022 was a successful year for R A Dalton, alongside substantial business development a number of employees, friends and families took active steps towards supporting some amazing charities. On the 2nd of July 2022 we embarked on a Hike of marathon proportions!

Three very worthy charities were chosen as beneficiaries of our fundraising, all of which can have a detrimental impact on the lives of those who are in receipt of their services.

The Sir Bobby Robson was undeniably our first choice for fundraising, the vast majority of us have either been impacted or know someone who has been impacted by the devastating effects of cancer.

Within the foundation they are always striving to improve the treatment and detection of this horrific illness which impacts on millions each year. Alongside the research and development funds are also raised to provide new cutting-edge technology, provide specialist training and also facilitating clinical trials all in aid of finding an eventual cure.

For more information on what this fantastic foundation does each year please take a look at their website – The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation

As a company based in the North Pennines and with the nature of our work usually requiring us to operate in very rural areas, the Great North Air Ambulance has become a vital service for emergencies in the North east, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.

Due to the distances from most major hospitals and with limited ambulances on the ground, an emergency such as a bad car crash etc the air ambulance could be your only chance of reaching the hospital in a timely manner.

This charity is 100% donation driven making any funds raised all the more vital, the work they undertake on the daily basis literally saves lives. The level of training, organisation and pre-hospital care is known worldwide with their teams being able to provide life saving treatment from the roadside, often buying valuable time before a hospital can be reached.

Unfortunately to maintain this level of service comes a substantial operational cost for which they are fully reliant on fundraising and public donations to help, for more information on the GNAA please check out their website here – Great North Air Ambulance Service | Charity funded, world-class critical care

At some point in our lives we are all sadly likely to experience loss and the grief from losing family and friends can impact people in different ways. Originally founded in October 1959 Cruse has been providing much needed support for those in need.

We all handle grief in different ways and Cruse aims to provide you with the tools to handle your loss. Following the recent impacts of Corona Virus Cruse had to change the way it operates, overcoming challenges to ensure that the support that was needed now more so than ever was still available when it counted.

If you know someone who might be able to benefit from the support Cruse provides why not check out their website here – Home – Cruse Bereavement Support

As our head office is based in an Area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) we were very lucky that we had the ideal location

to plot our route. Before the walk took place a remarkable amount of planning took place as we wanted to ensure we at least achieved marathon length.

Leaving the route plan in the capable hands of our more experienced walkers in our team the plan was to incorporate a wide variety of terrain, highlighting some of the most beautiful spots along the way.

In preparation sections of the walk were undertaken by our team to ensure that the pathways could be attempted by all members of our team… However despite this, and in hindsight perhaps some of us had underestimated the mountains we would need to scale to achieve the desired distance. If only I had a £1.00 for every time I heard “There are no more hills”…

Never the less once we caught our breath on the peaks of the finest hills Weardale have to offer we had time to appreciate our surroundings.

Each individual has their own goals for the walk dependent on their capabilities, with no one walking less than half way all goals had been achieved. To say there were a few sore muscles, some torn up feet and maybe a tear or two would be an understatement but it was an amazing experience I’m sure we would all repeat again in a heartbeat if we could.

Following the completion of our hike and once sponsorship money had been collected we had raised far beyond our expectations, with the kindness of Alistair and Lynn Dalton doubling the initial money raised making an eyewatering £11,430.00 to assist these three worthy causes.

Working together through each stage of the walk aided in creating better teamwork, learning more about the people we work with and motivating each other to take one more step at a time to reach a mutual goal.

I, for one, would do it all again in a heartbeat!