Kingsley St John's girl completes 'Europe's toughtest trek'

Ten-year-old Anna Copeman finished all 15 sections of the notoriously gruelling 170-kilometre ridge walk along the backbone of Corsica, the GR20, where hikers endure day after day of mountain isolation and a whopping 19,000 metres of ascent and descent.

Anna’s team included her 18-year-old cousin, Emily Polhill; mum, Alex Dedman; and dad, Chris Copeman, who together carried camping kit for 15 days and nights high in the mountains during the summer holidays this August.

The first four days involve so much climbing they're often missed out entirely - but not by Anna (Image: Alex Dedman)

Anna, who loves wildlife and ecology, used the trek to raise funds for the World Land Trust, a charity backed by Sir David Attenborough, which buy up tracts of ecologically sensitive habitat to protect some of the worlds most endangered species. 

Anna said the trek was ‘the hardest thing she has ever done’, but was ‘really pleased’ she did it.

Anna was raising money for the World Land Trust, which buys up some of the world most ecologically sensitive habitat for conservation (Image: Alex Dedman)

She added: “It was an amazing adventure, and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

"For the first few days, we had to clamber over rocks and use chains to get down steep slopes, as there was no real path. It was so tiring.

“During the day it was so hot we had to jump into icy lakes and streams in the mountains to cool off, but most nights were really cold.

“There were huge cliffs below and above, so we had to walk very carefully in some places.

“We had to eat the same thing every day - spaghetti and tomatoes. By the end, I felt like I couldn’t eat another bite of it. The pizza on our final day in Corsica made up for it.

“The mountains were so beautiful. One day I'll go back.

“I’m so pleased that 10 acres of rainforest are going to be protected. That could be a home to lots of animals.”

Anna says she hopes to return to Corsica one day (Image: Alex Dedman)

Anna’s interest in ecology and conservation comes for her parents, both keen environmentalist who always try to do their bit for the planet and local wildlife causes.

Her dad, Chris Copeman, was recently elected a Green Party councillor for Helsby.

Mum, Alex, said: “We've wanted to do it for years, but we had to wait until Anna was old enough.

“When she got 10, we thought she could probably cope with it, though it was much harder than we all expected.  I think Anna is one of the youngest people to have done it.

“We all had to dig really deep, but it was a brilliant, and amazingly rewarding.

“She's done a lot of mountain walking and climbing all over the UK and Europe with us since she was three years old.

“I’m not sure the next family holiday is going to be like this. We’ve agreed we’ll have beach holiday next year, as a reward.”