A breathtaking £13,680 has been raised – so far by Tess the Labrador and her owner Alistair Pratt, 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 died from cancer in September 2013, the two partners in memory 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’, says 69-year old yachtsman and mountaineer, Alistair.
The pair walked down through the Morsgail Estate on Lewis, across the Harris hills to Tarbert and on to Leverburgh, before taking the ferry across to Berneray and making their way down North Uist, Benbecula, and on to South Uist and 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’, says 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 pads held up very well.’
Although the walk sometimes saw Tess and Alistair 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.
Then Ardfern Yacht Centre [AYC] held a charity hog roast as Alistair and Tess passed through the Mid Argyll area. According to AYC director, Joanna Ashton, this raised some £4,016 towards the grand total.
‘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 says.
Tess’s blog is available online here and has proved a big 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,’ says Alistair, with a perfectly straight face.
‘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,’ he adds.
Alistair 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.
Everyone inspired by this magnificent 24 day achievement by dog and man can still donate to their campaign for Macnillan Tribute Funds Donations in memory of Margot Pratt. Go to the Macmillan Tribute Funds webpage here and type ‘Margot Pratt’ in the ‘Find a fund’ name section.
Note: The photographs above show, from the top:
- Tess and her master, Alistair Pratt, take a well earned rest at the top of Goat Fell on Arran after completing their 230-mile walk from Lewis.
- Tess gets busy writing more updates on her popular blog.
