The streets of Aberfoyle were packed with well-wishers on Monday as a father and daughter set off on a gruelling walk for autism awareness.
Villagers came out to see off Ian and Eve Alderman as they prepared to head up north to begin their walk across the length of the UK yesterday (Tuesday).
The pair will trek from Dunnet Head - considered as the most northerly point in the country - to Lizard Point beyond Land’s End which is seen as Britain’s most southerly spot.
They are hoping to complete the journey over six months, with the challenge representing a cause close to the pair’s hearts as both Ian and eight-year-old daughter Eve live with autism and are hoping to tackle preconceived ideas about the condition.
Since announcing their effort earlier this year, they have picked up support from a range of sources - including in the village itself.
That support includes the local Co-op, which has introduced a map allowing locals to keep track of Ian and Eve’s progress throughout the trek.
Wife and mum Sarah said: “The community has just been amazing and everyone did such a great job in seeing Ian and Eve off.
“The idea came from Emma in the Co-op because she wanted to arrange something and then the Aberfoyle Village People group got involved, but it was still really surprising to see how many people were out in the street at 10am.
“Eve did get quite overwhelmed and it was full on for her with that many people but she’s really excited to get going; Ian is excited as well but he’s nervous as well because he doesn’t deal with the build-up that well.
“We’ve had so many offers of support from people, some are offering to walk parts of the journey with them and others are offering accommodation and hot food for them along the way.
“They are targeting doing it in about six months, although they are hoping to do it in a little bit less than that.”
Adventurous Eve has been keenly preparing for the walk alongside dad Ian for months in the first step of her dream of climbing Mount Everest.
The family already share their journey through life via their ‘Our Spectrum Adventures’ Facebook page, run by qualified teacher Sarah - and are hoping to video as much of their cross-country challenge as possible on their YouTube page.
Meanwhile, an online fundraising page to help with costs for the journey also raised almost £700 from people happy to step up and show their support for the pair’s marathon effort.
