Dornoch whisky retailer joins brother in challenge to thank air ambulance for saving girl's life
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The general manager of a Sutherland based whisky shop is set to join his brother on a gruelling 250-mile walking and kayaking challenge to raise funds for air ambulance medics.
Michael Hanratty, who runs Carnegie Whisky Cellars in Dornoch, will team up with his brother Tom to raise a target of £35,000 - the equivalent total cost of an emergency life-saving response by Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) – every day of their 14 day challenge.
The charity was one of two helicopters which attended a near fatal head-on road traffic collision near Roybridge involving Tom's 11-year-old daughter, Keira, in 2017.
Operations support manager, Tom, who lives in Perth, believes the speed, professionalism and expert care of the air resources sent to the accident scene that day undoubtedly saved his daughter's life.
The brothers plan to take a route which has a special meaning for their family.
Tom said: "We were born and brought up in Musselburgh so that's where our journey will start on May 8. The goal is then to reach Michael's business at Dornoch on May 22 – the exact 10th anniversary milestone of Scotland's Charity Air Ambulance."
The route will see the duo setting off on foot from their former primary school - Pinkie St Peter's - at Musselburgh and walking to the Lochrin Canal basin at Edinburgh before kayaking the entire Union Canal to Falkirk and the Forth and Clyde Canal to Torrance.
It's then five days of walking the West Highland Way to Fort William before taking to the kayaks again for the Great Glen Canoe Trail. The final part of their epic journey will see them walking the John O'Groats Trail before a kayak across the Dornoch Firth and a short walk to the Carnegie Whisky Cellars.
"Keira was critically injured in that accident and required speedy transfer to hospital and life-saving surgery. Our family owes the air ambulance service everything for saving my daughter," said Tom.
"Nearly six years on, she's made a remarkable recovery although she still has scarring and suffers from anxiety in the car," he added. "The fact that we have her with us, however, is thanks to the amazing work of the air ambulances and their crews."
Tom and Michael have now started training in earnest with daily runs and regular kayak outings peppering their routines.
"Although we will rendezvous with a support vehicle to collect or deposit our kayaks at various places, we will be very much on our own," said Michael. "We aim to complete 20 miles a day when walking and 15 miles a day on water. We will be carrying 20kg packs, camping out each night and the midges will be horrendous but we'll be ready for it.
"This trip will be gruelling and exhausting - with lots of challenges along the way - but if we have to suffer for 14 days to help SCAA ease the suffering of others, then it's all worthwhile."
Tom and Michael will be funding their entire trip themselves but are appealing for support from businesses and members of the public through their "High Road To Dornoch" Facebook and Just Giving pages.
Tom added: "We decided the day after Keira's accident that we would do something to thank SCAA for what they have done for our family."
"Plans were delayed because of Covid but we will complete this challenge in May come hell or high water to raise funds and do exactly that."
And SCAA will be with them every step and stroke of the way as a SCAA teddy bear will be joining the journey.
SCAA community fundraising officer Claire Taylor said the charity was "extremely grateful" to the Hanratty family.
"SCAA seeks neither recognition nor reward for the life-saving work our crews carry out on a daily basis," she said. "We are only relieved that we were available to come to the aid of those injured in the accident.
"To have Tom and Michael arrange this amazing fundraising challenge to express how much the charity has touched their family is just wonderful. We can't thank them enough for all their support and wish them a safe and successful journey."
