Max Woosey, 13, has spent every night for three years under canvas, raising more than £750,000.
A teenager known as the “Boy in the Tent” has set a Guinness World Record for the most money raised by camping.
Inspired by a family friend who died of cancer, Max Woosey, 13, has raised more than £750,000 for North Devon Hospice.
He has spent every night under canvas since starting his marathon camping mission exactly three years ago in the garden of his home in Braunton, Devon, even pitching up at 10 Downing Street.
“It’s been the best three years of my life,” he told BBC News.
Image source, Rachael Woosey
Max’s epic camp-out started when he was 10 following the death of family friend Rick Abbot in February 2020.
“Before my neighbour died of cancer, he gave me a tent and told me to ‘have an adventure’,” Max said.
“The North Devon Hospice took such good care of him I wanted to do something to say thank you to them.”
Along the way, the rugby fan has camped out at the Exeter Chiefs’ Sandy Park stadium and has even pitched up in the garden of 10 Downing Street, meeting then-prime minister Boris Johnson.
Image source, Guinness World Records/PA
Image source, Number 10
Through storms, snow, hail, torrential rain and baking sun, Max has stuck it out in his tent.
“The worst night was when the tent collapsed,” he said.
“It was chucking it down with high winds, it was 12 o’clock at night and we couldn’t find another tent to pitch up.”
Max, awarded the British Empire Medal in 2022, reckons he has gone through about 15 tents since starting his challenge.
“I only set out to have an adventure and raise £100,” he said.
“It is crazy that it has got so much attention but I hope it makes people see that children are capable of a lot more than people think.”
His mum Rachael said: “Any time we mentioned him stopping there would be tears and tantrums.
“And then after Christmas he toyed with the idea.
“So we tried to back off and then he said three years was enough and he wanted to focus on other things.”
Hayley Robinson, healthcare assistant at North Devon Hospice, said of Max’s achievement: “You can’t imagine what it would be like with the weather that we’ve had.
“We used to worry about him being so young. but doing that for the hospice is just amazing.”
Max has also announced he will hold a final celebratory camp-out festival on 1 April at Broomhill Estate in North Devon.
“There have been ups and downs but I wanted to finish on a high, and hopefully there will be more adventures in the future,” he added.
Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].
Related Topics
0
0