Extreme Cellists: Meet the Yorkshire trio celebrating 20 years of playing cello in unusual places

"We are not planning on giving up anytime soon,” said Mr Dawson, a professor at Sheffield University.

Since 2003, the Extreme Cellists as they are known have raised over £50,000 for charities by playing their instruments in out-of-the-ordinary places such as on cathedral rooftops and summits of mountains. Ben Nevis sticks out as one memorable venue.

Now, to celebrate 20 years, the Sheffield-based trio are just back from a short tour of the Isle of Man to reprise some of their main challenges to date, in aid of two charities: Aspire (supporting people with spinal injuries) and Go Beyond (giving breaks to children facing challenges).

Mr Dawson, 47, is joined by teachers Mr Rees, of Chester but formerly of Sheffield, and Ms Wallace, 63, of Sheffield.

Their mission to the Isle of Man was aimed at “settling the score” by undertaking five challenges in four days: playing on Queen’s Pier, Ramsey; running the Isle of Man Half Marathon with cellos attached; playing on the roof of the Song School at Cathedral Isle of Man in Peel, before walking coast-to-coast across the island the same afternoon; and playing at the summit of Snaefell (2,000ft).

Each of these challenges harks back to an earlier challenge in Extreme Cello history. In 2016 they played on all 58 surviving piers in Great Britain, but did not make it across to Ramsey to play on Queen’s Pier as well.

In 2012, they ran the London marathon with cellos. In 2006 they played on the rooftops of all 42 English cathedrals in 12 days. In 2010 they did the Coast-to-Coast walk across northern England (194 miles in 14 days, with 44 performances along the way), and in 2008 they played at the summits of the tallest mountains in Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland.

While each of the performances represents a challenge in its own right, the hardest aspect of this trip is likely to be doing all of this in such a short space of time.

Mr Dawson said: “We’re all a bit older, and probably a bit less fit than we were previously, so running a half marathon, walking from coast-to-coast, and climbing a mountain on consecutive days – all with cellos – is likely to test our resilience to the maximum! It is worth it for such great causes, however.”

Paul Parrish, Aspire’s Director of Fundraising and Marketing, said: “We are grateful for all the unique challenges and fundraising they have done for Aspire for more than 10 years, supporting people with spinal cord injuries.”

To sponsor the Extreme Cellists please visit www.extremecello.com.