A DETERMINED walker put her best foot forward to complete the West Highland Way - and raise over £1,000 for her brother’s veterans' charity.

Margaret Barron, 53, is from a military family with her brothers and sons all serving in the armed forces, with one sibling setting up his own cause to support soldiers who need help after being discharged.

She decided to tackle the 96-mile Scottish route to raise vital funds to support the organisation's work across the country.

Margaret explained: “My brothers and sons have served in operations all over the world.

“A few years ago one of them completed his full service and started up a charity called the Homeless Veterans' Project.

“They do a fantastic job helping former personnel experiencing homelessness, as well as tackling other issues such as alcohol and drug addiction, PTSD and unemployment.

“The charity is out raising vital funds every weekend and I wanted to do my own small bit to support its fantastic work.”

Margaret admits that despite months of training, the five-day walk was a huge challenge - especially the last few miles.

She said: “I’ve been climbing a lot of mountains and hills in the past year after getting into it during the pandemic, but this was the biggest challenge I had ever taken on. I was training every weekend with 20 mile hikes at a time but it was still tough.

“I started on the Monday and reached the end five days later, and thankfully the weather was fantastic the whole time.

“By the end my feet were in tatters and I had blisters on blisters. I did the last few miles in a pair of sliders, but it was all worth it in the end.”

Margaret, who lives in Skelmorlie, says she is thrilled to have raised £1,100 for the project and is already planning her next big challenge in aid of the charity.

She said: “It’s a fantastic amount to raise, especially when my initial target was only £200.

“I have had a lot of backing and it is clearly a charity which touches everyone, so the donations have been great.

“I think next year I will go bigger and do something else to raise more money for them - I’m just not sure what yet.”

Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/f/west-highland-way-veterans-fundraiser