Pilgrims who completed a grueling fundraising hike overcame rough terrain and adverse weather conditions to mark a seventeenth century plague-related noble sacrifice.

The group of 15, aged 50 to 80, from Christ Church, Southgate, trekked 40 miles through the "challenging but inspiring" Peak District to raise over £800 for Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice.

The intrepid church-goers completed the pilgrimage in six days, overcoming the daunting steep slope down into Dove Dale the driving rain made more difficult.

A spokesperson explained: “The route has been designed to commemorate the supreme sacrifice made by villagers in Eyam in 1665 when the plague was contracted after a local tailor brought back a contaminated piece of cloth from London.

“Led by the parish priest, the villagers chose to isolate themselves to prevent others from contracting the disease.

“One third of the villagers died but their sacrifice saved hundreds of others in the Dales and beyond.”

The pilgrims remembered those who sacrificed themselves in prayer throughout the week and held an open-air communion service in the hills above Chatsworth House.

Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice supports children and young people with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and their families in North London.