YRP Scotland: Rail Trek 2020

On Saturday 10 October 2020, Young Rail Professionals Scotland hosted the Rail Trek 2020 event to raise money for the charity, Railway Children. A group of 16 brave participants from the railway family met to take on the challenging 26-mile walk between Falkirk and South Queensferry along the John Muir Way.

We are delighted to say that so far over £3600 has been raised on JustGiving by the team, with donations being accepted until Saturday 21 November 2020. If you wish to donate, please click here. 

A relatively flat (but by no means easy) route was chosen due to unpredictability of the Scottish weather at this time of year, but thankfully it remained dry for the whole day. Beginning at Falkirk High Station, the route followed the canal towpath and River Avon Heritage Trail to Linlithgow, through the countryside to Bo’ness, along a scenic shoreside path and then through Hopetoun House estate before finally coming to the Forth road and rail bridges. Passing old country houses, farms, castles, towns, rivers, beaches, woods and plenty of railway tracks and viaducts, the ever changing scenery was a welcome distraction from increasingly sore feet as the miles passed by. The team were welcomed into Queensferry by a blazing sunset, in a fitting end to a long and tiring day.

Setting off in socially distanced groups at 8am, attendees had ample opportunity to get to know each other. We were joined by a diverse group of people from a wide range of companies within the rail industry. It was great to see members building up comradery, supporting each other and most importantly, remaining safe and responsible from the start to the finish line. It was an arduous walk, with an impressive effort made by all participants. Here’s what a couple of our attendees had to say:

“It was a great day spent in a lovely part of the world with equally lovely people! It was a hard graft and at times I felt that I wouldn’t make it all the way. But no early finish could have compensated for views we encountered along the way or for the sheer buzz of being handed my medal some ten hours after we set off, on the shore of South Queensferry looking up to the Forth Bridge.”

• Daniel McWilliams, Customer Service Apprentice, ScotRail.

“The walk was great fun, as well as a fulfilling challenge to partake in! I very much enjoyed getting to know my peers in Scotland and meeting YRPs from across the country!”

• David Westcough, Project Engineer, SNC-Lavalin Atkins

As a committee, YRP Scotland are thrilled to have held such a successful fundraising event and will be posing another Rail Trek Challenge in Summer 2021. We hope this will become an annual opportunity for members across the country to explore the wonderful and wild Scottish landscape (and rail network), whilst raising money for a worthwhile cause.

“It was a thoroughly enjoyable day from start to finish, and I’m so proud of everyone who took part. It wasn’t an easy challenge, and you could see the effort everyone had put in at the finish line. I would also like to thank all of the participants for allowing us to deliver a safe and successful event in the midst of the COVID pandemic, by being safe and responsible throughout the day. We have received so many kind donations, and I’m over the moon with the response we’ve had for Rail Trek 2020. Now I cannot wait for Rail Trek 2021! Railway Children is a more than worthwhile cause and I’m proud to have been involved in putting the event together.”

• Martyn Ross, Regional Chair, Scotland, Young Rail Professionals

Thank you to everyone who took part and those behind the scenes who made this possible. We are particularly grateful to Katie Mason and Lindsay Gardner from Railway Children for all of the support received.

If you’d like to join us for Rail Trek 2021, make sure to keep an eye out on the YRP website and social media for the details!

https://www.justgiving.com/team/railtrektotheforthbridge