Walkers hit the streets of Edinburgh in the wee hours for a cancer charity's annual event

Intrepid walkers were embracing girl power as they took on a charity challenge at the weekend.

As the Spice Girls finished ‘zig-a-zig-ah-ing’ the city of Edinburgh on Saturday night (8 June), another extravaganza was hitting the streets of the Capital – The MoonWalk Scotland.

The world famous decorated bras were the highlight of the night. Women and men were inspired by this year’s special circus theme, creating colourful bras that had passers-by checking to see if the big top really had come to town.

Organised by breast cancer charity Walk the Walk, what at first glance may have looked like a bit of fun, really was a huge challenge. Children aged 10 and over walked 6.5 miles - many taking part in their first charity event - women and men walked half and full marathons and a few completed a double marathon 52.4 miles, all starting at midnight.

Throughout the years, many celebrities have created bras to help Walk the Walk raise awareness, from the Spice Girls in 1997, to this year’s bras signed by The Proclaimers, Tunnock’s and Val McDermid. The bras are used in exhibitions to highlight the fight against breast cancer.

Now in its 23rd year, Walk the Walk has raised over £131 million (£21.5 million in Scotland) to fight cancer.

Christine McLaughlin, chief finance officer for NHS Scotland in the Scottish Government completed the Half Moon with a team of friends and family, called The Optimists, raising almost £13,500.

Christine is still undergoing treatment for breast cancer herself. She said: "Doing The MoonWalk has been the thing that’s kept me going for the last six months, something that I’ve aimed for all the way through.

“Going out for walks with all my friends has been a fantastic experience and the kindness and generosity of everybody that’s helped us along the way has been overwhelming, so I would encourage anyone if they were thinking of doing The MoonWalk, to do it next year. It was such a lovely atmosphere out on the route. Everybody you meet, whether they’re volunteers, or people in the street who stop to ask you what you were doing and to wish you well, - they're just amazing. A real feeling of camaraderie that you just don’t get anywhere else."

Founder and chief executive of Walk the Walk, Nina Barough CBE, said: “The MoonWalk Scotland 2019 was the most awe-inspiring night! Having all our ten year old walkers on the stage, full of excitement at their very first Walk the Walk challenge was just wonderful.

“I explained the importance of what the youngsters were doing and I think it shocked people to imagine that they will be in their forties by the time we expect to have a cure for breast cancer.

“I think that reason alone should keep people walking, so that we can give their generation the chance of life, which currently doesn’t exist. It was very clear that people had really trained and it was just so overwhelming impressive. Currently, we’re hoping to raise in excess of around half a million pounds – watch this space!”