Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Best foot forward for Beatson charity cash
Hugh’s Pennine Way challenge raises over £1800
A n A i r d r i e ma n successfully tackled a challenging longdistance walk to raise charity funds in tribute to his late brother-in-law.
Hugh Samson showed strength and stamina by completing the Pennine Way – from Edale in the Peak District, via the Yorkshire Dales, Cumbria, Northumberland and Cheviots, to the finishing line at Kirk Yetholm in the Borders – and raising more than £1800 in the process.
The sprightly 67-year-old put his best foot forward and trekked the 267 miles in just over two weeks, camping and staying in bothies and occasional bed-andbreakfast facilities along the way.
It was in honour of brother-inlaw James Dickson, who sadly died of cancer last year; with the money raised going to the Beatson cancer charity.
Hugh told the Advertiser: “I completed the walk on my own and averaged 17 miles per day; so I’d intended to do it in 21 days but was able to finish more quickly.
“I was mostly able to camp out wild along the way, but the weather wasn’t too clever and was quite wintry – the Cheviot hills were so misty and wet you couldn’t see 10 feet in front, so I had to stay in a bothy at that point.
“Starting at Edale was a highlight, as it’s a beautiful village; there were long treks up through moors and old drovers’ roads, and I loved Hadrian’s Wall – it’s amazing to see it and think about how they built it.
“I met quite a few folk along the way and had my Pennine Way book stamped at all the points along the route.”
Monkland Estate resident Hugh was delighted with his success in raising a grand total of £ 1840 to date, with some sponsorship funds still coming in.
He said: “I didn’t expect to make that kind of money; I thought I’d maybe make around £500, so I’m delighted and the Beatson can’t believe how much has been made.
“I had a lot of support from my friends and neighbours, and especially from Ebenezer Church on Broomknoll Street and the Masons Arms pub, who both did a lot for me in collecting sponsor money.
“The reason I did this walk was in memory of my brotherin-law who died last year; James was treated at the Beatson in Glasgow and also latterly at the new centre in Airdrie, and now I’m hoping to do something like this every year in aid of a cancer charity.”
Hugh added: “I’ve done a lot of walks and munros – I’ve previously done the West Highland Way three times, and the Speyside and Southern Uplands ways, along with the coast-to-coast route in England.
“When I was growing up, I was in the Boys’ Brigade and used to go walking a lot; but this was my first long-distance walk for 15 years.
“I’ve now found out about the long-distance route from Kirk Yetholm to Cape Wrath so hope to start planning that as my next challenge.”