A RAMSBOTTOM restaurant owner is gearing up for the trip of a lifetime at the end of April.

Fiona Botham, who co-owns the popular duo Levanter and Baratxuri, will swap the West Pennine Moors for the Himalayas when she takes on a gruelling trek across Nepal.

She will be joined by 21 other luminaries from the UK’s restaurant scene for the challenge in aid of the charity Action Against Hunger, which works to help save the lives of malnourished children across the world.

The trek, from April 24 to May 4, involves walking for six to seven hours per day across mountainous terrain at altitudes of up to 4,300 metres.

The group hope to raise £110,000 for the charity, which has stepped up its work in Nepal following the earthquake which devastated the country in April 2015. Mrs Botham has set a personal target of £5,000, and has so far raised almost £400.

Speaking of what motivated her to take on the challenge, she said: “When you feed people all the time you are aware of how lucky we are in this country that we can go out to eat at all these different places. This is a way of feeding people who are not as lucky.

"When I was asked, at first I thought I can’t go to Nepal and leave my children and two businesses, but it is a huge challenge that might not come again.”

The trek will be made all the more difficult by the remote areas the group will cross as well as the threat of altitude sickness.

Mrs Botham said: “The route we are doing has only recently been opened since the earthquake so these are very remote areas where the charity do a lot of work reinstalling water supplies and health care. This is a way we can bring awareness to what they do.”

To help raise money, Levanter and Baratxuri will each host an event with all proceeds going towards Action Against Hunger.

This Sunday, Baratxuri will host a Basque Banquet consisting of traditional food from the northern Basque region. The restaurant’s head chef Rachel Stockley will also be auctioned off to cook a meal in someone’s home.

On April 10, Levanter will then host a jamon and sherry event where diners will be taught how to hand carve ham.

Tickets to both events are £35 and can be booked by calling either 01706 559090 or 01706 551530.

To donate visit https://nepaltrek2018.everydayhero.com/uk/fiona-treks-nepal.