Kennedys take on the Kiltwalk

Tom and Wendy Kennedy walked their own route in 2020 and 2021 but will be doing the offiicial walk this year.

The couple will be taking part in their third Kiltwalk – the 13.5 mile route – in Balloch, Loch Lomond, on Sunday, April 24.

They’ve already managed to amass more than £1000 for the shed but are hoping readers will get behind them too.

It will be the first time the Kennedys will be walking the official route – in 2020 and 2021, they made up their own circuit, walking round Strathclyde Country Park loch three times to achieve the designated miles as the pandemic put paid to the actual walk.

Thanks to new ramps, the cabins are now fully accessible.

In both 2020 and 2021, they were able to raise £2000 for Carluke Men’s Shed, of which Tom is a founding member.

For the last few weeks, he and Wendy have been gearing up for their latest fundraising challenge by walking from their home in Law down to the Clydeside and back up, as well as meanders in Mauldslie Wood.

They are now looking forward to completing the Kiltwalk, officially, for the first time.

Tom said: “It’s good fun, great exercise, and it’s all for a good cause – to raise funds for a charity close to my heart, Carluke Men’s Shed, which has inspired me to give something back.

“Every penny we raise will be topped up by 50 per cent thanks to the generosity of Sir Tom Hunter and The Hunter Foundation.

“Any donation you can spare will mean the world to Wendy and I and our chosen charity.”

If you would like to support the couple, who have so far raised £1040 towards their £3000 target, visit https://glasgow.thekiltwalk.co.uk/fundraising/GlasgowKiltwalk2022-TomKennedy.

While the men’s shed has two Portakabins – one woodwork and one social – ready to use at High Mill, work on the site means members are still meeting every Friday in Carluke Leisure Centre between noon and 2pm.

However, members hope to be in their new home in the near future. With that in mind, they’ve fitted wheelchair ramps to their cabins – thanks to a Carluke Community Council micro grant.

And a defibrillator donated by St Andrew’s First Aid will be fitted outside the woodwork cabin in the next couple of weeks too.