The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Epic walk to highlight Forfar and Monifieth projects comes to an end.
Communities: Dundee man picked for epic trek arrives back in Tayside
A father-of-three and his walking team arrived back in Tayside to shine a light on two projects in Forfar and Monifieth.
Dundee man Angus Mcleod, 52, was among those chosen to join The Big Walk, an idea from the Eden Project made possible by the National Lottery.
The four people picked for the epic challenge walked more than 250 miles each, over 21 days – from Morecambe in Lancashire back to their homes across the UK.
The Big Walk is designed to celebrate the people at the heart of the UK’S communities, who work together to make a positive difference locally.
Mr Mcleod, who works for publisher DC Thomson, said he has been overwhelmed by the support of people and projects along the route, which included Forfar Foodbank and Monifieth Men’s Shed.
He said: “It means the world to be welcomed into the heart of these communities, connecting them as we go.
“The very first project we visited was
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It means the world to be welcomed into the heart of these communities, connecting them as we go. ANGUS MCLEOD
the Morecambe Bay Foodbank so it feels right to come full circle and end at this one. Foodbanks provide such a vital service to those in need, and it’s amazing to see the community of volunteers that come together to help.”
Angus Foodbank opened in 2012 as part of the Trussell Trust network of foodbanks, in response to the statistic that one in five people in the UK were living below the poverty line.
They now have three distribution centres – in Forfar, Montrose and Arbroath.
Foodbank manager Norman Brown, said: “There are about 80 volunteers between three centres – the centres couldn’t function without them.
“The people that use the centre might be homeless, have problems with drugs or alcohol, they might have been made redundant or have a young family to support – you can always be surprised by who walks through the doors.
“We have some really positive stories about the difference the foodbank has made to people.”
Pauline Cameron, Monifieth Men’s Development Coordinator, said: “Monifieth has a high percentage of older retired people, some of whom are quite lonely. They can refer themselves to our service, or a family member might ask for a befriender for their mum or dad, or sometimes it’s a district nurse or doctor who sees the benefit a befriender would bring to someone’s life.”
Mr Mcleod finally made it back home to Dundee’s Discovery Point yesterday.
gstrachan@thecourier.co.uk