TREKKING across the frozen wastes of the Arctic circle is a world away from Huddersfield.

But it was a challenge experienced by Anna McMillan, who lives in Longwood.

She went on a 250km-long trail, a member of a 14-strong team of intrepid venturers pulled by some 95 huskies.

It was a team effort to raise cash for a new children's hospital in Manchester - part of the same NHS trust as the city's St Mary's Hospital, where Anna works as a therapist.

Her trek started in northern Norway on April 14 and ended six days later after the volunteers travelled through three countries.

It was tough work - but she raised around £3,000 for the new hospital.

Reflecting on her adventure, Anna says: "It was absolutely exhausting and I had to have a holiday afterwards to chill out. But I wouldn't have missed it. I'd do it again."

The 45-year-old entered the challenge with a bit of trepidation.

"Physically, I was prepared as I exercise a lot. But mentally I had only an idea of what it would be like," she says.

"I thought it would be hard, but it turned out to be far harder than I expected."

Each member of the team had to carry their own food, tent and equipment on a sled pulled by eight dogs.

Anna and the other volunteers were each made responsible for their huskies, making sure they were fed and rested.

It was a journey which led Anna into a new respect for the dogs.

"They were amazing. They worked so hard," she says. "It really opened my eyes. They were so dedicated.

"When we stopped to feed them we had to tie each of them to a tree, otherwise they fight, mix up their food, feed them, clean up the mess and then harness them back to the sleigh."

As the dogs could only understand Norwegian, Anna had to learn a few key command words in that country's language.

"There's quite a technique to sledding and it took a while to get used to it, but after a couple of days it was fantastic.

"A couple of people did come off, including me, when their sled turned over, but luckily no-one was hurt."

The trek took them across frozen lakes and mountains and rolling highlands and forests deep into the heart of Lapland, with nights spent camping under the stars in sub-zero temperatures.

"The country was absolutely awesome and the going was so different. In some places it was easy, in others it was a nightmare," Anna says.

"We went across three vast lakes and although it was very cold we could hear the ice cracking underneath. It was quite scary if you thought about it."

The team was there at the wrong time to see the northern lights. But they did see polar bear footprints, although not the animals themselves.

Food was a diet of reindeer meat with lots of Mars bars for energy.

"We had to get the tents up very quickly because of the cold and blizzards, get our sleeping bags in and the little fire on for our food," says Anna.

Back in Britain, she is thankful that so many people in Huddersfield supported her.

Her friend Vicky Callum-Ward persuaded pubs to put on fund-raising efforts and Anna is full of admiration for those who dug into their pockets to help.

"They gave so readily," she says.

The new children's hospital in Manchester is due to open in 2009, when the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and Booth Hall Hospital will move to one central site to become the biggest children's hospital in the country.

The New Children's Hospital Appeal, which Anna's fund-raising total will go to, aims to raise £20m for equipment to help doctors provide patients with the very best in diagnosis and care.

The appeal also aims to provide parental accommodation facilities so that parents can stay close to their child during treatment.

Anna says: "It will take children from the whole of England and parents will be travelling there from far and wide to stay with children who may be terminally ill.

"The accommodation is vital for them at what must be a very difficult time."