Charity coastal walk couple join Greenock's Parkrun

Antony and Sally Brown, both 59, set off on their 6,000-mile journey from their hometown of Bude in Cornwall on May 15.

Since then, they have travelled through England and Wales before reaching Scotland in mid-August, covering more than 2,000 miles so far.

Along the way, the pair have been taking part in Parkruns most Saturday mornings – something which Antony usually does at home.

The keen walkers initially passed through Inverclyde earlier this month, having made their way up the Ayrshire coast.

They returned to Greenock more than a week later during the Cowal Peninsula stage of their journey – taking the ferry from Dunoon in order to squeeze in another Parkrun.

Antony said: “We knew we wouldn’t have another opportunity until we reach Ganavan Sands in Oban.

“The welcome we got in Greenock was amazing. It was the best time I’ve run in around 15 months too.

“The people there were really great.

“We were quite desperate to get a lift to the ferry and luckily one chap was able to get us on the 10:20 sailing back.

“We still had to get to Tighnabruaich that day, so it was quite a long distance to go.”

The couple hope to complete their challenge by May 22 next year, in time for Sally’s 60th birthday the following day.

In the coming months, they will be raising money for the RNLI and Cornwall Air Ambulance.

They also hope to raise £5,000 for Parkrun – enough to set up a weekly run in a new location.

Antony admitted the journey has been challenging at times, but he hopes their efforts will be worth it come next May.

He added: “You have good days and bad days.

“Luckily, the good outweigh the bad. The nice thing about doing it as part of a couple is that if one has a down day, the other is there to pick them up.

“We keep each other going on bad days.”

To keep up with Antony and Sally’s journey or donate, go to linktr.ee/ukcoastwalk.