A St Andrews woman has urged others to support a young charity walker and offer him a bed for the night.
Bev Harrow put Matt Wallace up in the house occupied by Seve Ballesteros when he won the 1984 Open at St Andrews.
She offered Matt accommodation after reading about his walk from John O’Groats to Land’s End in The Courier.
Matt gave up his job and his flat on his 30th birthday to do the walk to raise cash for Cancer Research UK. He is walking with no support crew, carrying everything he needs in a pack on his back.
On his way he plans to visit every cancer centre in Britain supported by Cancer Research UK, and earlier this week paid a visit to Dundee where the charity spends £6 million a year supporting scientists.
When Matt discovered he was so close to St Andrews, he decided to make a detour and film on the spot where the Spanish golfer celebrated his proudest achievement and share that on his website (link).
Bev said: ”I was just reading about Matt and looked up to see an absolute monsoon going over St Andrews. I thought that I wouldn’t want one of my family or friends camping out in that.”
Bev and her husband George both lost their closest friends to cancer and understand the devastation the disease causes. They lived in Dundee until about eight years ago when they moved to St Andrews and bought Carron Lodge, where Seve lived while he was playing in the 1984 Open.
For Matt getting a warm bed for the night was reason enough for celebration, but the fact he was walking in the footsteps of the Spanish golfer was the icing on the cake.
Matt be walking through Fife during the rest of this week, heading for Dunfermline on Saturday and Kincardine on Sunday.
Bev said: ”The message I would like to put out is that everyone should be rallying behind Matt. This is a wonderful thing he is doing. He should be backed. Do we Scots want this young guy to pitch a tent every night?”
The Harrows’ youngest son, Geordie (7), is following Matt’s progress on Facebook (link). The boy has experienced ill health himself, another spur to his parents’ willingness to support Matt.
Bev said: ”A couple of years ago the bones in Geordie’s hands and feet started to die and the doctors couldn’t tell us why. Thankfully he has got a lot better.”
Professor Inke Nathke, of the Dundee Cancer Centre, said: ”Thanks to supporters like Matt, Cancer Research UK was able to spend nearly £31 million last year on leading scientific and clinical research in Scotland including local research in St Andrews and at the Dundee Cancer Centre.
”Through a partnership between Cancer Research UK, the University of Dundee and NHS Tayside, the Dundee Cancer Centre is translating state-of-the-art cancer research into benefits for patients in Tayside and North East Fife.”
Matt met Prof Nathke when he toured the Dundee Cancer Centre earlier this week and she told him about the work that goes on there.
Matt uploads a record of his progress on the walk and what he learns about cancer to his website whereswallace.org where you can also find links to his YouTube and Facebook pages.