This year marks Astute’s 20th birthday.

It’s also the third year of our partnership with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance (HIOWAA), the charity our team have voted to support and partner with for three combined years. To mark both, we’re taking on our biggest fundraiser yet.

The National Three Peaks Challenge.

Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. The three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales. Around 23 miles on foot, roughly 10,000 ft of ascent, and a single 24-hour window to do all of it, including a night ascent of Scafell Pike.

Managing Director, Matt Dickens, put it simply when he filmed the team out training in the Brecon Beacons:

“This year we’re doing the Three Peaks in 24 hours. That’s 24 hours from the base of Ben Nevis, up, down, on the road to Scafell, up, down, on the road to Snowdon. Once we’ve been up and come down for a third time, that’s when we’re going to stop.”

It’s a tough one. It’s meant to be.

Why we take on a Three Peaks Challenge for charity

Some causes are easy to get behind. HIOWAA is one of them.

When an ambulance can’t get there fast enough, or simply can’t get there at all, the air ambulance can. The crew brings critical care to people in the places road crews struggle to reach, and they do it across the whole of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

None of it is funded by the government. It runs on donations.

That’s why we keep showing up. As Matt said in the video:

“And you never know, perhaps you’ve needed the air ambulance, or a loved one has needed one already, or perhaps you might need it in the future. It’s nice to know that they’re going to be able to respond much more quickly and they’ve got the funds they need to deliver their valuable service.”

Since we partnered with HIOWAA, we’ve now raised over £20,000 with Gift Aid, enough to help fund six life-saving missions. We’re pushing on towards our target for this milestone year.

A big moment for HIOWAA

The timing of this year’s challenge couldn’t be better.

This week, HIOWAA officially opened the doors to its new airbase and headquarters near Southampton Airport, completing the move from its previous home in Thruxton, Andover, where the crew had been based since 2007.

The new location sits closer to the majority of the people the charity serves. From here, the team expect to reach almost every patient within 10 minutes of take-off, compared with up to 20 minutes or more from the old base. When you’re treating someone in a critical condition, those minutes save lives.

The move was made possible by the charity’s Operation Airbase appeal, which raised £3.6 million entirely through public donations, local businesses, trusts and community groups, with more than 13,000 donors getting behind it.

Keith Wilson, Director of Income and Engagement at HIOWAA, said:

“This is an extremely proud and significant occasion for our charity and the countless patients whose lives will be saved and changed as a result of this move.”

Knowing that the funds we raise now go towards a service that can respond faster than ever makes every step worth it.

What we’ve done so far

The Three Peaks is the latest in a run of challenges our team has taken on for HIOWAA.

We started big. In September 2024, our team tackled the 100km South Coast Ultra Challenge, walking through wind and rain to raise funds for the charity. We’ve since taken on a 50km Ultra Challenge walk too, alongside skydives, bake sales and plenty of smaller efforts in between.

Every challenge has added up, with the team raising thousands towards our total through walks, skydives, bake sales and plenty of smaller efforts in between.

What’s coming up

We’re not stopping at the mountains.

Later in the year, a team of cyclists will take on the London to Brighton route, and we’re planning a night walk around London too. Both are still being finalised, so keep an eye on our channels for dates and details.

Thank you to our corporate sponsors

A challenge like this doesn’t happen on its own.

This year we’ve had brilliant support from a group of businesses who’ve helped us push towards our target, and we want to say a proper thank you to each of them:

Your backing means more of every pound raised goes straight to the charity, and it’s a genuine vote of confidence in what HIOWAA does for our community.

“We couldn’t do this without the businesses standing behind us. Their support helps us turn a tough day on the mountains into real funds for a charity that saves lives every week. Thank you, all of you.”