A STAGGERING
£13,680 has been raised so far by yachtsman, Alistair Pratt and his loyal
Labrador Tess, who completed their 230-mile walk from Lewis to Arran in aid of
Macmillan Cancer Support at the end of May.
Walking in
memory of Alistair’s wife and Tess’s mistress Margot, who sadly passed away
from cancer in September 2013, the duo set off from their home near Reef beach
on the west coast of Lewis on 30th April and had made their way to
Goat Fell on Arran by 24th May.
“This was
always Tess’s walk for Margot and I just went with her,” said 69-year old Alistair.
The pair
walked down through the Morsgail Estate on Lewis, across the Harris hills to
Tarbert and onto Leverburgh, before taking the ferry across to Berneray and making
their way down North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and on to Lochboisdale.
“From there
we caught the ferry to Oban and walked to Ardfern on the Craignish peninsular,
before we headed off to Skipness on the Mull of Kintyre for the final ferry
trip to Lochranza on Arran.”
With mixed
weather conditions along the journey and three particularly gruelling days
heading into gales, Tess and Alistair didn’t always have the easiest of
conditions for their adventure.
“We had three
pretty horrible days with gales and rain in your face when we were in the
Highlands, but we battled through it together and on the whole we were lucky
with the weather for the duration of the walk and it all went very well,” said
Alistair, adding that the longest day of walking saw them cover over 20 miles
across the moors of Lewis and Harris.
“One of my
biggest concerns was how Tess’s paws would cope with such a long walk everyday
and I am pleased to say that her paw pads held up very well.”
Although the
walk sometimes saw the pair making their way down the long route on public
roads, they mostly used old drovers or coffin tracks together with forestry
roads.
They also had
various friends joining them along the way, including David Wilkie from Kilmelford
who helped drive the campervan for accommodation purposes, along with John and
Jane MacInnes of Tayvallich and David’s wife Lynn who joined them for some of
the walking stages.
A charity hog
roast was also held at Ardfern Yacht Centre (AYC) as Alistair and Tess passed
through the Mid Argyll area, which raised some £4,016 towards the grand total,
according to AYC director Joanna Ashton.
“I would like
to sincerely thank all of our customers and friends of Alistair and Tess who
attended the hog roast and who gave so generously towards this valuable cause,”
she said.
Tess’s blog
available at www.tesswalk.wordpress.com
had also proved a real hit with many during their journey.
“She proved
to be a whiz on the laptop with some interesting updates and observations on
the daily happenings as the walk progressed,” said Alistair.
“We still
have money coming in now and I know Tess will be up for more challenges in the
future, so we need to see what adventure comes next,” added Alistair, who
retired from running a local education authority outdoor activity centre on
Arran and now works part-time at Ardfern Yacht Centre during the spring and
autumn rush periods.
Donations to
Alistair and Tess’s walk can be made on-line via the Macmillan Tribute Funds
website by going to www.macmillan.tributefunds.com
and typing in Margot Pratt in the ‘find a fund’ name section.
