‘The Big Walk’ comes to Portobello Beach with an open invitation to join in and celebrate community spirit
Four teams of walkers set off on Wednesday 16 May on an epic three-week journey across the UK, as The Big Walk returns for its second year. This year representing Scotland is a 52-year-old father of three, Angus McLeod from Dundee, joining him on various other sections of the 400-mile route is Adam Mould, founder of the Glasgow Panthers Wheelchair Rugby League team, along with several of his team-mates.
Angus and the Big Community Walk arrive into Portobello near Edinburgh on Saturday (26th May), where members of the local community will join the Scotland Team to accompany them on a 4-mile route along the beach and promenade, joining in with community-focused activities along the way.
Watch a short film about this year’s walk and walkers here https://youtu.be/wWAPHW5TnuY
The Big Community Walk aims to give everyone the opportunity join in and do something wonderful and celebrate some of the ordinary individuals doing extraordinary things at the heart of their communities.
Every day of the walk, the Scotland team are visiting incredible projects. On the Saturday before the main event, they will begin their day at Edinburgh Remakery, which teaches people useful employability and repair skills while tackling throwaway culture repairing furniture, phones and computers. At the moment they are running a ‘Laptops For Refugees’ campaign – aiming to give 100 laptops to 100 refugees and asylum seekers across the UK in 2018.
The walkers will arrive at 11 am and will join in with a litter-pick as they set off down to the beach, where they will be joined by rowers from Portobello and Musselburgh picking plastic and rubbish from the sea, and local runners will use the Strava app to write the message “Porty welcomes The Big Walk”
The event is also working in collaboration with the Beach Wheelchair team at Portobello to make sure that the day is accessible to everyone. Chairs are available to book, although the team will be providing additional chairs on the day, to book call 0300 666 0990.
There will be singing from a local choir and stories from Scotland walker, Angus as he recounts his recent days walking. The day also promises a community quiz, dancers, performers, art, dog walking and even a plastic-free picnic. The event ends with a prize giving at 1:45 pm.
The Big Walk is an Eden Project idea made possible by the National Lottery with the purpose of shining a light on ordinary people going the extra mile to bring people in their community together while working up an appetite for The Big Lunch.
Angus McLeod, captain of Team Scotland, (above) said: “When I read about The Big Walk I completed the application form in record time during my lunch hour; and just a few months later, here I am, taking on one of the biggest challenges of my life!”
Sandra Brown, Eden Communities Scotland Country Manager, said: “The aim of the Big Community Walk in Portobello is to give participants the opportunity to experience the joy of spending a few hours doing the kinds of things which connected communities do together and celebrating how important this is.
Hopefully, it will inspire them to bring this joy back in the places they live by organising their own Big Lunch.”
Anyone can take part! Order a free pack and join millions of others across the UK for The Big Lunch on 3 June www.thebiglunch.com and don’t forget to follow #TheBigWalk to see lots of inspiring communities in action.
Register for the Portobello event at https://thebigwalkportobello.eventbrite.co.uk
About The Big Lunch
- The Big Lunch (thebiglunch.com) is the UK’s annual get together for neighbours, an idea from the Eden Project made possible by the National Lottery.
- This year, The Big Lunch will be held on Sunday 3 June
- The Big Lunch started in 2009. Last year over 9 million people took part in over 96,000 events across the UK.
- Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall, is Patron of The Big Lunch.
- Bringing communities together, reducing loneliness and isolation, and helping to make a difference locally is at the heart of the National Lottery’s mission.
@edencommunities #thebiglunch #thebigwalk Thebiglunch.com thebig-walk.com
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