News / Liz’s 33 mile charity trek from Sandness-Lerwick
A WOMAN from the west side of Shetland raised thousands of pounds for charity by walking 33 miles from Sandness to Lerwick at the weekend.
Forty three year old Liz Peterson set off from Sandness at 8.30am on Sunday and, £500-worth of roadside donations later, arrived at the Great Wall restaurant in Lerwick at 8pm.
She was raising funds for the Shetland Stroke and Parkinson’s charities – both causes which are close to Liz’s heart. Well over £3,000 has been raised, with donations and sponsor sheets still flooding in.
Although she was the only person to complete the full distance, she was joined by a total of around 16 family and friends at various points along the way, and said she arrived in Lerwick “a peerie bit weary, but absolutely delighted”.
For the last stretch, from the Toll Clock to the Great Wall, there was fiddle and accordion accompaniment courtesy of Liz’s son Murray Peterson and Callum Watt.
“Our mam had Parkinson’s, and our sister had a stroke and she was recovering, so it was just a big achievement to be doing it for them,” she told Shetland News.
“My sister was there at the end with my brother to meet us coming in, so that made it all worthwhile.”
Liz, who now stays in Walls and works at the Sandness Spinning Mill, said she found it “overwhelming how kind everybody is being”, with people still coming up to her and handing over £10 and £20 notes.
A regular walker with her Jack Russell dog, who took part in the Sandness-Walls leg, Liz said trekking all the way to Lerwick was “for some unknown reason something I’ve always wanted to do”.
She paid a warm thanks to everyone who helped in any way, including Jamieson’s for sponsorship, the Scottish Parkinson’s group for donating t-shirts, those who provided homebakes, snacks and treats along the route, including Peter Deyell at the Bixter Hall.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to everybody that gave us money on the way to Lerwick. We got £500 on the way along the road, from tourists and everything – it was unbelievable,” Liz added.
- You can make a donation to Liz’s chosen charities by visiting her Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/Liz-Peterson
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