Adventurous abseilers help Marie Curie from The King’s Head Inn

A North Yorkshire publican threw herself into her pub’s support of Marie Curie in late May; abseiling Roseberry Topping as part of a fundraising adventure off “Cleveland’s Matterhorn”.

Bobby-Leigh Howard’s The King’s Head Inn is a quaint country pub famous for sitting under the famous hill and when the charity’s Stokesley fundraising group needed a base camp for the day, stepped up as a venue.

Providing a natural registration point for those undertaking the 15m descent of the sandstone rockface wasn’t enough for the pub’s determined general manager, who went on to don a safety harness and hard hat herself. Rallying colleagues, customers, family and friends, Bobby-Leigh and co helped the Stokesley group raise a total of £13,500, which will go towards helping provide expert hospice care for people approaching the end of life.

Bobby-Leigh’s contribution was boosted by The Inn Collection Group’s Give Inn Back fund, which provides all 30 of the company’s pubs with rooms with a pot of £2,500 per year to support local good causes.

Fresh from completing her descent, Bobby Leigh said: “ I am so glad I decided to take part! Not only is it a huge achievement personally but to be a part of something much grander fills myself and the team at the Kings Head Inn with such pride and accomplishment. Many of us at the KHI have walked up Roseberry countless times but I’ve definitely saw a different and new side to the iconic hill.

“We’re a community-minded pub and look to support our local community groups wherever we can, so there was always going to be at least one of us with a head for heights to take part but I didn’t originally anticipate it would be me. However, It’s been brilliant to not only take part in the event but also support it with some practical help. The feedback from the Marie Curie group on how the day ran has been more than complimentary of the whole team at the pub. I’m incredibly grateful and proud of them!

This was our first cause that the team at The King’s Head Inn have chosen to support with our Give Inn Back fund and it makes me incredibly excited to look forward and start planning how we support other local charities in the future.

Donations can still be made in support of the abseil through the events JustGiving page.