by BoJack_35 » Thu Jan 17, 2019 9:54 am
Dear all,
Some of you may remember that I introduced myself a couple of months ago. Back then I was in the early stages of planning an expedition through the Hebridean islands. Well, now it is a reality, and I want to share the basics of what I'm doing.
On March 31st 2019 I arrive on the Isle of Barra. A year later I return to the mainland. Initially I will be walking The Hebridean Way, using the Cicerone guide and Peter Clarke's "The Timeless Way" as inspiration. But given I have so much time, I will be taking many of my own routes to discover the islands at my own leisure.
Why? In the early sixties my dad, John Abbott, founded the Schools Hebridean Society, a group of young teachers who led expeditions of twenty or so secondary school children, to various islands, such as Rum, Lewis, Gometra, Jura, etc... The Schools Hebridean Society continued until 1989, and in that time influenced the lives of countless young men and women. I was only six at the time of the final expedition and dad had since gone onto other things, but the legacy he left was profound, and we, as a family, continued our own trips to the islands right up until present day. The baton had been passed.
Just over a year ago dad, eighty this year, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. This has had a huge impact on the him and his nearest and dearest. Slowly an idea came to mind that would honour his adventurous spirit and legacy, and eventually I decided to plan my own expedition to the Hebrides. As a writer I wanted to use this project as a way to inspire a book dealing with the themes of memory, landscape, and my relationship with my father - a sort of travel memoir, I suppose. So whilst I explore the islands I will be writing a book. But not only that, I will be fundraising for Alzheimer's Research UK.
A lot of people have expressed interest in the story. The Scotsman published an article of mine last month, a Hebridean radio station wants to interview me throughout the trip and join me for a section of a walk, various journalists and a filmmaker or two have recently contacted me with a view to discussing how they might become involved in it. In short, its starting to blow up, and I'm confident that we will be able to raise a lot of money for a very good cause, one which means a lot to me.
I am still raising money for the expedition itself, so please feel free to contact me if you'd like to support. There are pages to support the expedition, which is over 25% funded now (which means I now have an official departure date, and the expedition will be at least starting) and a page where one can donate to Alzheimer's Research UK.
I will be doing a lot of the walks detailed in various Cicerone guides, as well as a lot of the walks I've found on this website, so I hope to share my experiences of those. In the meantime, get in touch. I'm always keen to make trail friends.
Kindest regards
Tom
- Attachments
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- Dad in the early sixties, and me, his son, last year.