Charity travel: trekking on the Amalfi coast

If you thought charity travel was a euphemism for a sponsored holiday, follow our man's three-day mountain trek in southern Italy. It was no walk in the park...

Walkers raise more than £30,000

Charity treks face a tough sell. They may be for a good cause, but aren't sponsors just paying for people to go on a nice holiday? The answer, as I can testify, is: not exactly. Five days of falls, sprains and dog attacks on the Amalfi coast and Sorrento peninsula made me wonder if it would have been easier to walk – like earlier do-gooders – with dried peas in my shoes to Canterbury.

The British Heart Foundation was among the first charities to get involved in what is now a booming industry, when it hooked up with Classic Tours in 1992. My five-day trip has a registration fee of £150 and minimum sponsorship requirement of £1,300. For those with more ambitious physiques and consciences the BHF's Everest Base Camp trek is at the other end of the scale: 17 days long, £400 to register and £3,200 to be raised.

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Although my cardiovascular credentials aren't as thoroughly challenged on the Amalfi trek as they would have been going to Everest, the motivation for the trip is ever-present. Almost every one of the 29 walkers has a personal connection to heart disease. One or two remarkable individuals have undergone quadruple bypasses, yet attack the climbs and descents with more vigour than seems decent for people in their autumnal years. For each of us, there's the added incentive that exercise combats heart disease as efficiently as anything else, from the youngest participant (22 years old) to the oldest (79).

Charity challenge takes in daily ten-mile treks along the Amalfi coast

Thanks to comprehensive and regular preparation packs, everyone has raised the minimum targets and completed most of the required training. Each sponsorship requirement includes travel, accommodation and meals (£610 in our case; other expenses are out of the pocket) to make the events more affordable, although many on our trip paid the £610 themselves so that all funds raised would go directly to the charity. A variety of tour operators offer similar expeditions, among them Charity Challenge (020 8557 0000/www.charitychallenge.com) and the Adventure Company (0845 450 5316/www.adventurecompany.co.uk). Classic Tours' challenges have raised over £40 million alone for hundreds of charities.

As a package-tour virgin, I harbour reservations about tight timetables and lack of autonomy. The itinerary turns out to be strict, but worries about being turned into a human sheep are allayed: the atmosphere is one of willing participation and working towards mutual goals that I can respect. Over-saintly it may sound, but there's something deeply gratifying about knowing that there will be more to show from our holiday than a pile of dirty washing and a handful of souvenirs that will be binned two months later. The logistical elements are explained with a light touch, while our local guides, steeped in English humour, educate us about our extraordinary surroundings.

Each of our three days' walking is broadly similar in structure; an early start, an ascent and an excellent packed lunch, then a descent, all punctuated by essential, regular water stops. Even in late September the 30C heat brings Nöel Coward irresistibly to mind – even more so when our guide is bitten by a dog. Our tour doctor offers sage advice about urine colour to underline the importance of rehydration: 'champagne, not sherry'. Each day ends with dinner and a briefing at our hotel, a three-star affair in a tranquil fishing village south-west of Sorrento. Throughout, there's a variety of sensual pleasures and physical labour. The walks, from eight to 12 miles, take us through olive groves and crumbling paper mills, up the famous Path of the Gods and down rocky, treacherous descents, all the while passing a worrying number of shrines to the Virgin Mary. The views are routinely magnificent, to the extent that we almost begin taking for granted another vista of Nureyev's island or another sunset over Capri; no wonder the Amalfi coast inspired works as diverse and brilliant as 'Parsifal' and 'A Doll's House'.

The terrain is testing and many of the party have brought hiking sticks, yet there is a constant flow of encouraging banter which culminates in a shambolic chorus of 'Volare', much to the amusement (we think) of the locals. The prize of a meal at a local restaurant or a couple of hours shopping in Sorrento (the latter ensuring our wallets, at least, would be lighter) also acts as a powerful incentive.

The challenge ends with a boat trip and a celebratory dinner. Some are moved to make speeches extolling the group; most are too exhausted to hit the limoncello with quite the same dedication as nights past. But all can go home safe in the knowledge that they have surpassed their own expectations over testing terrain and have raised well over £30,000 for a very good cause: the charity challenge in excelsis.
Classic Tours' is now taking bookings for 2008's BHF challenges, with destinations including Cuba, Vietnam and Cambodia, and the southern Alps. For more information call 020 7619 0066 or visit www.classictours.co.uk.

Gabriel Tate. Photography Kate Mitchell