A churchman is following in the footsteps of an ancient Scottish saint in aid of an Aberdeen cathedral.
The Very Reverend Canon Dr Emsley Nimmo will trek across Scotland, from Aberdeen harbour to the island of Lismore, to raise funds for the restoration and renovation of St Andrew’s Cathedral, in King Street.
Canon Nimmo, Scottish Episcopal Dean of Aberdeen and Orkney, said he was looking forward to hitting the road.
“I’ll go from here with my walking companion to the harbour and Aberdeen Sea Cadets will ferry me up the Dee as far as a boat can go, and then I’ll get out and start walking from there,” he said. “Basically I’ll be walking from Aberdeen via the Black Isle, Inverness, down to Fort William and then beyond, crossing over to Lismore from there.
“We’re sailing part of the way so that does cut out a bit of walking time.”
Canon Nimmo, who is rector of St Margaret’s Church in the Gallowgate, will begin the journey on May 5 in partnership with the Scottish Sea Cadets, who are sailing him for sections of the journey.
This includes a voyagefrom Burghead to the Black Isle.
From Rosemarkie, on the Black Isle, he will walk south to Inverness, linking up with Sea Cadets in the Highland capital who will take him down Loch Ness as far as Castle Urquhart at Drumnadrochit.
He will then meet Lochaber cadets en route to Fort William, before marching to Lismore.
The trek is a reverse of the route taken by Saint Moluag in the 6th century.
The Irish missionary is credited with bringing the Christian faith to the Picts of Scotland.
It is not the first time Canon Nimmo has pulled on his walking boots in aid of a good cause.
He previously trekked from the harbour at Ballachulish to Stonehaven to raise money for his own church hall in the Gallowgate. Canon Nimmo added: “The whole intention of the walk is not just to assist the cathedral here with raising money but also to engage with the young people across Scotland in the Sea Cadet Corps and in other ways. It’s also about talking about the traditions of Christianity in this land – where the faith comes from, how that has contributed to this nation as it is today, and also just to have a good craic.”