Organisers hopeful Kiltwalk will take place next year

Scotland’s Kiltwalkers have raised £20.6 million in five years for over 2,000 Scottish charities.

That’s double the target set by Sir Tom Hunter when he rescued the Kiltwalk charity in 2015.  Every penny of the £13.9m raised by Kiltwalkers was paid-out to 2,100 different charities and this was topped-up by £6.7 million by The Hunter Foundation.

The milestone figures were revealed as Kiltwalk announced a Save the Date for Scotland’s Virtual Kiltwalk Weekend in April 2021.  With the ongoing restrictions due to COVID 19, a Virtual event will take place from Friday April 23 to Sunday 25 to allow charities to mobilise their supporters to raise much needed funds in the first part of next year.

Organisers announced that the next mass participation event, Scotland’s Kiltwalk 2021, is set to go ahead in Glasgow on 29 August. Given the promising news of vaccination programmes in Scotland over the coming months, the Kiltwalk felt it was right to set a date for bringing the Kiltwalk community back together again in late summer for one big Scottish walk.

Sir Tom Huntersaid: “The Kiltwalk kindness of Scots is truly unparalleled and at a time of most need we should offer hope and that’s why today we launch Scotland’s virtual Kiltwalk for the Spring. We know charities need real support right now and we also know our Kiltwalkers will step up to that fundraising challenge.

“And it’s fantastic that today we announce getting back to walking together for one big walk on 29 August we simply can’t wait to see our walkers in person!

“When we rescued Kiltwalk we had no idea that Scots in their thousands would embrace this fundraising challenge and if I’m honest we wondered if we were flogging a dead duck; well the duck is alive and well and flying £20.6m high thanks to all our Kiltwalkers - you put a smile on my face every day thank you!” 

This year all four of Kiltwalk’s planned events, in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh, were cancelled because of the pandemic but virtual events held to raise funds for cash-strapped charities attracted 16,000 Kiltwalkers and delivered £2.5 million with The Hunter Foundation doubling the fundraising total to £5 million.

The Kiltwalk are promising a very special Kiltwalk in April which will include a number of Virtual surprises for participants.

Kiltwalkers are invited to don a bit of tartan and complete any socially distanced challenge they wish, from walking, running, cycling, hopping, skipping or jumping on a trampoline, to raise funds for the charity of their choice.

The Hunter Foundation will boost all cash raised by 50%.