Meet Our Supporters – Dundee Kilt Walk 2022
Meet Our Supporters – Dundee Kilt Walk 2022
On Sunday, 21 August, around 2,300 hardy souls stepped over the start line for the Dundee Kiltwalk 2022 to raise money for nearly 300 charities. Three of these walkers decided to fundraise for Scottish Mountain Rescue by undertaking The Mighty Stride challenge, which is a 25-mile walk from St Andrews all the way to Monifeith, taking in Angus, Dundee and Fife.
One of the Kiltwalkers, Morag, decided to fundraise for SMR because “9 years ago, I started walking distances to lose weight and did my first marathon walk around Dundee Green Circular Route. Since then I’ve done many long walks but usually keep to urban areas, pavements or cycle paths as I often walk solo and always wanted to be close to where someone could reach me if I had an accident. More recently I have ventured in to the hills, again solo, and although I always tell my husband where I am going, you can’t always predict what is going to happen. I watch many documentaries on TV about the work that Mountain Rescue Teams do and know that they are funded by donations, so felt it was the right charity to raise money for.
“The Dundee Kiltwalk was on a warm sunny day with a breeze when we left St Andrews and headed west to Guardbridge. I met up with a lady called Debbie who was raising funds for a cancer charity. Through Tentsmuir Forest we were plagued by flies but, thankfully, I had predicted this and took my midge net……It was a godsend. The track in the forest is not great and I was hurting on the uneven terrain. Once out of the forest and back onto pavements we reached the Tay Bridge where I was close to stopping. I was feeling slightly dizzy and my feet were sore. A sugary drink, sweets and washed down with water, thoughts of my fundraising target, and I was back on track, crossing the Tay Bridge and finally heading east towards the finish. My daughter met us about 4 miles to go and that lifted my spirits. 7 hours and 35 minutes after starting, Debbie and I crossed the finish to loud cheers and a medal, and then I got my long-awaited reward, a pint of Guinness, which I nearly finished it in one mouthful!
“I would definitely recommend the Kiltwalk to anyone looking to raise funds for charity. It is a well-run event, lots of information from the Kiltwalk team before the event and lots of support on the day.”
Celia chose to undertake the Dundee Kiltwalk for SMR because “I am a member of the Scottish Women’s Walking Group and we have members walking in the Glasgow, the Dundee and the Edinburgh Kiltwalks in 2022. Scottish Mountain Rescue was chosen by the Group as the charity to raise money for again this year.
“ I am a keen long-distance walker and, as part of my training this year, I walked the Norfolk Coast Path from Hunstanton to Cromer in July. Although I regularly walk forest trails, because the weather was so good, I enjoyed the coastal sections to Tayport, crossing the Tay Bridge and Dundee to Broughty Castle. Having undertaken the walk, my top tip to anyone else undertaking the Mighty Stride is to change socks and shoes after the Tentsmuir section of the walk – most important to take care of your feet when walking long distances.
“I was joined by my daughter’s Collie, Keith, for the last part of the walk and it was his first time crossing a bridge – he was brilliant and it didn’t phase him in the slightest. I have a new walking companion, Reba (a 14-week-old Labrador puppy) and now that I have retired I hope that we will have lots of amazing walking adventures together and, perhaps even undertake the Kiltwalk together next year.”
“There has been a significant increase in the number of callouts which our mountain rescue teams are attending, which leads to increased costs for each team. Currently 3 out of every 5 callouts are funded by money raised by our supporters, so we greatly appreciate the effort that people go to in order that our rescue teams can operate and provide their first-class service across Scotland. On behalf of our volunteers, I would like to extend a big thank you to our Dundee Kiltwalkers, who chose to undertake their challenge to fundraise for Scottish Mountain Rescue.” Damon Powell, Chair of SMR.
The Kiltwalk is a unique way to raise funds for a Scottish Charity you care about. You raise 100% for your chosen charity and The Hunter Foundation adds 50%. Thanks to Sir Tom’s Hunter Foundation, our 3 fundraising heroes managed to raise a total of £1,287.