Trio take another step towards their latest fund-raising total

Musician and Gazette diarist Derek Allan and his daughter Ellie, 12, walked 74 miles along the Great Glen Way over six days during the Easter holidays.

Together with their walking buddy Shaun Watts, they have raised almost £1,000 for the National Autistic Society, with the amount still climbing.

Derek, from South Broomhill, and Ellie have been walking and fund-raising for years.

They have walked many miles and have raised thousands of pounds for many different charities with their walks, dubbed Footprints for Others.

It all started when Ellie was seven and she asked her dad if she could help him save the world.

Now, as each year passes, they venture further and their dream to help people is realised more and more with each step.

Along the way they have teamed up with Shaun, who has joined them on some of their other fund-raising missions.

Last August, dad and daughter hiked from Thorntonloch in Scotland to Cresswell in aid of the brain injury charity Headway, which raised more than £2,000.

Two years earlier, they walked 65 from Berwick to Cresswell, along the Northumberland Coastal Route, also for Headway, which raised more than £1,360.

The Great Glen Way is a coast-to-coast walk from Inverness to Fort William.

A challenging long distance walk through some of the most dramatic scenery in Scotland, it not only covers many miles but many different kinds of terrain.

Donations can still be made to the trio’s fund-raising at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/footprints-for-others-greatglenwayDerek, a member of the duo We Steal Flyers, writes a weekly diary for the Gazette. See Page 42 for this week’s.