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Holiday News and Offers
Here's where you'll find the most up-to-date information about what's happening at Mountain Kingdoms. Check below for details of any upcoming events we are holding, any special offers we are running, any news we've got to share and any holidays that have spaces and are due to run in the next few weeks. You can also sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter.
Trekker of Mountain Kingdoms' Everest Base Camp trip wins The Guardian's travel writing competition
We're delighted to hear that Alexei Vink who took part in a trek to Everest Base Camp with Mountain Kingdoms has won The Guardian's travel writing competition.
Alexei's inspirational experience was featured in Saturday's The Guardian newspaper, and can also be read on The Guardian's website.
Mountain Kingdoms sponsors the Severn Bridge Half Marathon
On Sunday 24th August Mountain Kingdoms kindly sponsored the Severn Bridge Half Marathon, in which 2000 keen runners took part. Mountain Kingdoms donated £700 towards the event, which will benefit many charities including St. David's Foundation and Barnardo's.
Impressively, since the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, this is the first ever time that the bridge has been closed to traffic for a running event.
Read moreA ride to save lives
This year, two admirable families are fundraising for Interburns by doing a trip from Kathmandu to Dhaka (K2D), all whilst travelling on motorbikes! During their journey the two families will meet both burns staff and patients from Nepal, through North East India and to Bangladesh.
Interburns is a worldwide charity dedicated to providing training, education, research and support with the aim of improving burn care treatment and prevention in less developed countries.
Read moreA sad farewell to a much loved trek and tour leader
It is with great sadness that we have to tell you of the death on Tuesday 12th August of ‘Ned’ Kelly. He had been fighting illness for the last year and died at home peacefully with his family around him.
Ned had been a trek and tour leader for Mountain Kingdoms almost since the year we started in business in 1987. Over a period of some 26 years he led more trips for MK than anyone else. He was incredibly popular and if those of you who travelled with him would like to write letters or send cards of sympathy please feel free to send them to 20 Long Street, Wotton-u-Edge and we will forward them on to his family.
Read moreIT Schools Africa - recycling our old monitors
We've recently updated our office equipment and are pleased to have donated our old computer monitors to a charity - IT Schools Africa.
Read more2014 Wanderlust Guide of the Year Awards
We were delighted to hear that Efrain Valles has made the shortlist for the 2014 Wanderlust Guide of the Year Awards. Efrain works for our partners in Peru - and so if you have travelled with us in Peru, then you may have met him. If you had Efrain as your leader then Wanderlust would like to hear from you! Send your lovely comments to topguide@wanderlust.co.uk. The deadline is the 23rd May.
Read moreNepali Children’s Trust Update
The Nepali Children's Trust was set up by Mountain Kingdoms' client, Fran McGowan, in 2005 to support physically challenged children living at the Disabled Newlife Centre (DNC) in Kathmandu. Their mission is to enable children and young people with a disability in Nepal to be independent, to overcome discrimination and have value within their families and communities.
Fran McGowan, the chairperson at the Nepali Children’s Trust has just reported to us from Kathmandu. She says that “the building is working very well and the children there are thriving”.
Niki's sponsored litter-pick raising funds for Nepal
A huge well done to Niki for her sponsored litter-picking last week. Not only did she spend the morning picking up litter in Wotton-under-Edge, where the Mountain Kingdoms office is based, she also spent the afternoon picking up litter in her home town of Chepstow.
Niki's story was featured in the Chepstow Beacon, you can read the article online. Niki is raising money for SHIVA charity, with donations going to the Ginette Harisson School near Kathmandu in Nepal.
Support4Sherpas after the Everest avalanche
Mountain Kingdoms is deeply saddened by the deaths of 16 Sherpa Guides in an avalanche on Mount Everest's Khumbu icefall on April 18th. Although our clients do not travel higher than Everest Base Camp, the Sherpa community is at the heart of our Himalayan business and friends and colleagues in Nepal have lost loved ones. We offer them our condolences and wish to pay tribute to the professionalism and commitment of all the Sherpa guides and porters we work with in Nepal.
Read moreTravel talk 'Georgia to Afghanistan' at our local Arts Festival
The forty forth Wotton Arts Festival will be held from 25th April to 4th May and there will be three musical concerts, an art exhibition, a celebration of St George, talks, and an evening to mark the centenary of the start of WW1.
On Thursday May 1st John Pilkington will tell the tale of his journey - “Georgia to Afghanistan”.