Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Deafblind pensioner completes inspirational cross-Scotland walk

Michael Anderson with the walkers who helped him to the finish.
Michael Anderson with the walkers who helped him to the finish.

A deafblind pensioner was the toast of St Andrews on Saturday after completing an inspirational charity trek across Scotland.

Michael Anderson set off from Iona earlier this month for the 220 mile cross-country hike.

Accompanied by his daughter Fiona, daughter-in-law Nina Smirnoff, and a host of volunteers, the 75-year-old strolled up The Scores to mark the conclusion of his remarkable quest.

Speaking to The Courier, Fiona, who completed half of the walk alongside her father, said the experience had meant so much to him.

“It was very emotional coming up to the finishing line and slightly overwhelming.

“The walk has been a huge affirmation for my dad and we have met so many wonderful people along the way.

“It has really taken him out of his comfort zone.

“The last time he went camping was when he was in the cubs, which was a long time ago, so things like that have been a huge undertaking.”

Mr Anderson left Iona on May 6 in a bid to raise £15,000 to help build a new learning and development centre for Deafblind Scotland.

The expedition, dubbed “Michael’s Way”, was based on an old pilgrimage route and is the second part of three challenges he is undertaking.

Last year he completed the Eyemouth Spring Triathlon and his next test will be a gruelling 50-mile cycle ride, possibly between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Hopeful that her father’s experiences can help raise awareness of deafblindness, Fiona added: “People often think that deafblindness is two disabilities, but it is not.

“Deaf people can adapt their sight, and blind people can adapt their hearing, but for deafblind people it is a totally different scenario.

“My dad is lucky as he has access to a lot of support, but deafblindness can be very lonely for people.

“I know he is delighted that this experience has opened up a line of communication about deafblindness with the people he has met and it is so important to him that the money can be raised for the new centre.”

Donations can be made to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michaelsway.