Twenty‑four hours after completing the UK Three Peaks Challenge, 12‑year‑old Megan Tapp was treated to a lift to Cwmbran High School by her dad – a rare break from her usual walk to school.
Megan and her dad, Matthew Tapp, had spent the weekend climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales within 24 hours, raising money for Cancer Research UK.
Matthew’s friend’s wife, Sophie, died last year, and the family also recently lost his auntie DeeDee- both to cancer.
Matthew joked: “She didn’t whinge [on Monday before school]. She normally walks. I let her off and also picked her up.”
He said Megan was “jumping for joy” when their sponsorship page passed £1,000 yesterday. Donations are still open. Use the link to donate.
The pair spent the long weekend chatting as they walked and sharing a playlist — one earphone each. Matthew said the music swung from country and western to hard rave. Their rules were simple: any artist allowed, a maximum of two songs each, and no skipping.
“Megan wasn’t impressed when I tried to sing,” he laughed.
Megan said: “There were lots of people congratulating me as soon as I walked into school.” She loved the views from Yr Wyddfa, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis, and couldn’t pick a favourite.
Matthew told Cwmbran Life that today was the first time he’d walked up the stairs at home pain‑free.
Temperatures
They experienced temperatures from -4°C to 26°C.
He thanked his brother‑in‑law Adam Koehli for driving them between the mountains and keeping everything running smoothly.
“He was brilliant,” said Matthew. “As soon as we got down, he was waiting with drinks and food. He was good as gold. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.”
It’s not the first challenge for the pair. Matthew completed the UK Three Peaks two years ago with friends and booked this week off work knowing how tough it would be. Megan also completed the Welsh Three Peaks “a couple of years ago”.
Matthew, 46, joked that this weekend counted as pre‑season training with Bettws. He joined the Newport club at 19 – and 28 seasons later, he’s still there.
They did the challenge on Saturday 20/ Sunday 21 July 2026.