Claudia sets off on Slow Coast 500 trek from Caithness to Berwick
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An outdoor enthusiast who specialises in walking art projects has set off from Caithness on a long-distance trek down the full length of Scotland's North Sea coast.
Claudia Zeiske is making her way from Dunnet Head to Berwick-upon-Tweed at an unhurried pace in a project she calls Slow Coast 500, borrowing its name from the NC500 tourist route.
She says the idea is "to consider the role of tourism in making – or breaking – places". While tourism is often intended as a boost to local economies, she points out that it can contribute to problems for communities and their environment.
Claudia started her trek on Thursday, going from Dunnet Head to Mey, and is continuing to John O'Groats on Friday.
On Saturday she plans to walk from Groats to Keiss, carrying on to Wick on Sunday.
After that her itinerary takes in Wick to Whaligoe (Monday), Whaligoe to Lybster (Tuesday), Lybster to Dunbeath (Wednesday), Dunbeath to Berriedale (Thursday) and Berriedale to Helmsdale (Friday).
She will then have a rest day before continuing through Sutherland.
She plans to reach Berwick in September.
Throughout the walk, Claudia plans to use existing routes and explore new ones.
Along the way, she is carrying a tablecloth in the same shade of orange seen in the branding of an Ordnance Survey Explorer map – using it as a picnic blanket to encourage conversation, and embroidering it with geological and other features.
She is also sending a daily postcard to Art Walk Projects, an artist-led organisation based in Portobello.
Claudia's other projects have included Home to Home, a Brexit-stimulated 1800-mile walk from the artist’s home in Aberdeenshire to her childhood home in Bavaria, Germany; Slow Marathons, questioning the competitive nature of marathons; and From Mountain to Sea, a 150-mile walk across Aberdeenshire to mark the Covid period.
