A GROUP of eight West Somerset mothers set out on Thursday (March 19) on an epic challenge to walk the 98-mile national park boundary in four days to raise money for Exmoor’s village schools.

The ‘Moorland Mums’ group have already raised more than £5,900 toward new science and technology equipment for Moorland Federation schools in Cutcombe, Exford, Porlock, Dunster, Timberscombe, Dulverton, and Langford Budville, and now have their eyes on a target of £15,000.

The walk, which takes in a gruelling section of the South West Coast Path, moorland, and steep valleys, begins and ends in Porlock Weir.

The team hope to cross the finishing line about 5 pm on Sunday.

They will spend the first night in Combe Martin, the second in Molland, the third in Roadwater, and the last in Porlock Weir.

One of the organisers, Jasmine Willford, said: “None of us have done anything like this before.

“But we have done a lot of training walks and our longest was 40 kilometres.

“This is all about giving something back to the schools which do a brilliant job but need funding from the community to improve their facilities.”

The Moorland Mums previously raised more than £9,700 for Cutcombe First School’s swimming pool upgrade by competing in the Three Peaks Challenge in 2024.

Ms Willford said: “In West Somerset, just 14 per cent of children go to university, compared with a national average of 27 per cent.

“We aim to raise funds for equipment and learning experiences that will give our kids a head start, helping them to break down barriers to achieve their full potential by giving them the very best start at our lovely village schools.

“This cause means so much to us and the next generation of West Somerset.”

Donations can be made online and their progress followed via a tracker.