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| Meeting Another New Friend on the Kiltwalk |
I’m often asked “why do you like being outdoors so
much”? As I’m either
running or walking up the local Kilpatrick hills or one of the glorious
mountains in Scotland.
Well roughly about 8 years ago I found myself in the
unfortunate position of being a newly divorced, single mother of one. It obviously wasn’t mentally a nice place to
be but I’m a very optimistic person and decided that I would use my free time
to do something that would make me feel good.
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| Kiltwalk |
I had always been curious about hill walking and one
evening whilst at a friend’s house party I started talking to a lovely girl
called Karen. Through the course of the
night she talked in great detail about how she had walked the Kiltwalk which is
a 26 mile walk from Scotland’s national stadium (Hampden) to Balloch in Loch
Lomond. Several wines later (bottles
might I add) and she had talked me into taking part in my very first Kiltwalk. Months passed and I had forgot about agreeing
to this then on the 1st January the following year Karen emailed me
to say “do you still fancy taking part”? I booked up there and then as my
mentality is if I book it I can’t back out of it.
My First Kiltwalk
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| My very first Kiltwalk with my amazing friend Karen |
Getting in Some Practice
Every opportunity I got I was out pounding the pavements
trying to get my legs used to walking long distance. First it was a mile then 2
miles then gradually the mileage started increasing. I found whenever I was out walking it was so
therapeutic because it was great adult company and conversation as well as releasing the feel good endorphins you get from exercising.
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| Ardgartan near Arrochar 2011 |
I’ve always been a very busy person probably doing far too
much but I found when out walking in the outdoors I felt free, no-one wanting a
piece of me, nothing to think about but putting one foot in front of the
other. Several other people would join
us on our walks and we would vent out anything that had annoyed us during the
week and by the end of the walk we would always end up laughing.
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| Ardgartan near Arrochar |
Various Walks in the Countryside
I joined some walking groups on Meetup and started going on
some beautiful walks in the stunning Scottish countryside. I walked forest paths which took in breath-taking scenery and more often than not would end up near water which always
seemed to recharge me (my love for being outdoors had began).
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| Drymen to Balmaha Walk 14.9.13 (Conic Hill in the background) |
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| What a View - Drymen to Balmaha 14.9.13 |
In April that year I completed my first ever Kiltwalk it
took me well over 9 hours and I was a broken woman. I never anticipated just
how long 26 miles was back then, I had blisters that were half the size of my
foot. I remember being in Dumbarton running
out of energy and thinking I can’t do this.
You feel like you have a wee angel on one shoulder telling you can do it
and on the other side a wee devil saying you can’t but the angel always wins
and I never quit so I soldiered on.
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| Ready for Another Kiltwalk |
Once I arrived at Balloch I went into Lomond Shores where we
were fed stovies (a traditional Scottish meal of mince, vegetables and sliced
potatoes) and a can of Irn Bru. After
about twenty minutes, feet all bandaged up I made my way up to the pub where
all my friends had gathered for a celebration party. There were several bands playing and even
with my sore feet I managed to dance until last orders was called. The next day I could hardly stand up straight
never mind walk but I had managed to raise quite a lot of money for charity and
had already been talked into taking part the following year therefore it was
all worth it.
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| Family Effort Kiltwalk - Hope for Autism |
Over the course of 5 years I took part in 5 Kilt walks; four
of the Glasgow ones and one in Edinburgh.
When I completed my second one a year after the first I knocked 1½ hours
off my time. This was mainly due to the
fact I had taken up walking much more regularly and my feet and legs had gotten
used to walking longer distances.
Edinburgh KiltWalk
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| Mo, Steven & I Edinburgh Kiltwalk |
For the Edinburgh Kiltwalk, I managed to talk my brother into taking part to and in the process raised funds for Hope for Autism which is a charity close to the families heart.
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| Group photo - Portabello Beach, Edinburgh |
The Kiltwalk is a fantastic charity which was initially set
up to raise funds for various childrens' charities but now you can raise funds
for any charity of your choice. The
atmosphere is always amazing setting off, during and when finishing with
bagpipes playing, supporters cheering you on and entertainment/pit stops
throughout the route. You get a real
sense of community spirit.
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| Shady Characters Edinburgh Kiltwalk |
Taking part in the Kiltwalk helped ease the pain of a
marriage break up for me, enabled me to find a new past time, make new lifelong
friends and find a new lease of life whilst raising much needed funds for
charity. I dare you to try it.
