Stefan Durkacz

It's been a while now since I completed this wonderful walk. Whilst I won't deny it was primarily a personal indulgence which provided me with a stock of memories and experiences I'll never forget, I also raised some money for two outdoors-related organisations: Scottish Wild Land Group and Venture Trust. I've written about the whats and the whys here , but in short SWLG is an entirely volunteer-run group working to protect wild land for its own sake, and Venture Trust incorporate the transformative wilderness experience deeply into the personal development work they do with disadvantaged young people. In the end there is perhaps something in the unmediated outdoors that knows us better than we know ourselves. Anyway now the fundraising is over I thought I'd reveal the final totals raised: £410 for Venture Trust and £435 for Scottish Wild Land Group. A massive thank you to everyone who donated. Your money will help continue the fight to protect Scotland's magn...

In two weeks' time I'll be setting off to walk the boundary of the River Tay catchment . It's a 300 mile route through some of the best and most varied of Scottish landscapes. I've never walked this far before. I've nearly recovered from a tendon injury a few weeks ago, so whilst I'm optimistic I'll be up to it physically, it's the psychological challenge that may be most interesting. But it's not just all about me. I'm using the walk to raise money for two great charities whose work should be appreciated and supported by everyone who values wild land: Venture Trust and Scottish Wild Land Group . You can read more about these charities and why I've chosen to support them here . So, this is a call for donations. Anything you can spare will be much appreciated. Times are hard, for many young people and for our wild land, and the work of these two organisations is needed more than ever. Please consider splitting your donation: you can donate to...

Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted that I now have a fundraising page on this blog. I'm using the walk to raise money for these two terrific charities, and you can read more about them and why I've chosen to raise funds for them here. Links for making online donations are also up and running. Venture Trust have published an article about the walk on their website, and there will also be a piece about it in the next edition of Scottish Wild Land Group's ' Wild Land News ', due out any day now (if you download PDFs of their excellent magazine, please do consider taking out a membership!). The walk is still several months away and you might want to wait until nearer the time to think about donating, perhaps when you're more certain I'm going to go through with it, or indeed successfully complete it!. That's fair enough, but please do keep it in mind. I believe we're at a cross-roads now, both in our understanding of how important nature and wild lan...