A dad and daughter have completed every Great Trail in the country to raise vital funds for Scottish Autism.
Ian Alderman and his 10-year-old daughter Eve have completed all twenty-nine of Scotland’s Great Trails, as part of a near two-year fundraising challenge, trekking two-thousand miles across Scotland.
Since starting their journey in January 2023, the pair, who are both autistic, have raised almost £7,000 for Scottish Autism, Scotland’s largest autism charity. Their total on the JustGiving page continues to rise.
Having started the fundraising journey at the age of eight, and completed it at the age of ten, Eve is believed to be the youngest person to complete all of Scotland’s Great Trails.
The pair documented their journey on their blog, Our Spectrum Adventures, and their achievements were celebrated by Scottish Autism and NatureScot, which manage Scotland’s Great Trails. The duo then received certificates and recognition from both organisations.
Commenting after completing the challenge, Ian said: “When Eve was a baby, the hospital found a tumour growing on her spine. We were told we would not be taking her home. Once Eve was given the all-clear, we decided to try to live every day like it was our last and give Eve the best childhood in the outdoors.
“The biggest challenge was never the trails, the weather, blisters or any other factor most people or even casual hikers might think about. Ultimately, our biggest challenge and focus was logistics, logistics, logistics!”
He added: “The planning was where we spent most of our time and effort, such as getting to and from the trails, resupplying options, overnighting (especially in urban areas) financing, scheduling other commitments such as hospital appointments and radio interviews, as well as social media posting every night, charity fundraising, dealing with setbacks such as getting flooded in or out of our home.
“Completing all 29 trails in one near continuous ‘thru-hike’ is less of a hiking challenge more of a logistic and planning challenge. But people like hiking, the photographs, the story of it all and everything that goes with that. People never see what goes on behind the scenes to make it all happen!”
Jane Kennedy, Income Generation and Partnerships Lead at Scottish Autism said: “We are absolutely delighted with the sums of money which Ian and Eve have raised during this incredible journey and we are extremely grateful that they have chosen to support Scottish Autism through their challenge.
“They have not only raised funds which will help to support the ongoing provision of services for autistic people, they have also raised awareness of autism and of the work of Scottish Autism along the way.”
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