More than £2.4 million has already been raised through this year's events, with thousands having headed out in Aberdeen at the weekend
Aberdeen hosted its biggest Kiltwalk yet – with hundreds of charities set to benefit.
More than 2,200 walkers took to the streets of Aberdeen on Sunday (3 June) for the Royal Bank of Scotland Kiltwalk, raising funds for 273 local charities.
Walkers enjoyed a new route for 2018, with three different distances for the challenge.
The Aberdeen Kiltwalk alone is set to raise around £250,000 and the 40% top-up of £100,000 from The Hunter Foundation will take this total to £350,000.
Sir Tom Hunter said: “Today was very special and I want to thank each and every Kiltwalker who took part and made this our biggest Kiltwalk in Aberdeen to date. There is nothing more inspiring than seeing thousands of walkers in a sea of tartan, encouraging each other to cross the finish line to raise a huge amount of money for the causes they care about.
“The Royal Bank of Scotland Kiltwalk highlights how generous Scots are: so far this year we have seen 14,800 heroes give up their time to go the extra mile to help others, and with two walks still to go we expect this to get even bigger. With £1.7 million already in the bank it’s my absolute pleasure to add 40% to the running total, which at the moment stands at £670,000 making a grand total of £2.4 million. Can we make the magic £3 million this year? With more walkers I’m sure we can!”
Leading out Aberdeen’s Mighty Stride (26 miles) was 50-year-old Tracy Johnstone from Kingswells, walking for Aberdeen children’s charity Charlie House which she founded following her experience with her youngest son Louis who is severely disabled and requires around-the-clock care.
Johnstone chose to take on the Kiltwalk this year, amongst a number of other challenges, to mark her 50th birthday and raise money for Charlie House which supports babies, children and young people with complex disabilities and life limiting conditions in north east Scotland.
The Big Stroll (14 miles) was led by Mags McWilliam from Inverurie and her 17-year-old daughter Jade who were walking for the British Heart Foundation. Also leading out the walk was Judith Davis and her five-year-old daughter Hannah from Pitmedden who were walking for CHAS. Hannah was born with a genetic condition known as Pfieffer Syndrome which affects one in every 100,000 children.
The Wee Wander was started by Tracey Milne and her 10-year-old son Alfie from Peterculter who were walking for Alfie’s Trust. Alfie was diagnosed at 18-months with Lymphangiomatosis, an extremely rare and incurable disease. The family set up the trust to raise funds for research and patient support to help those suffering from the little-known condition.
Next up is the St Andrews to Dundee Kiltwalk on 19 August and, finally, Edinburgh on 16 September. Each walk has three distances to choose from to suit people of all ages and abilities.
