Guide for Sutherland stretch of women's hiking relay is local adventurer and mountain leader

Organisers of a fundraising women only Land’s End to John O’Groats hiking relay have named the person who will guide walkers on the Sutherland stretch of the 2028km route.

Qualified hill and mountain leader Lynn Munro (28) from Spinningdale but now living in Kinlochbervie, has been announced as the local guide.

The relay, which kicks off at Land’s End on April 1 and will take 74 days to complete, is being staged by women only adventure company Love Her Wild. Sutherland women are being encouraged to take part or help out.

Founder Bex Band said that the aim of the relay was to celebrate more women getting outdoors as well as to highlight the importance of protecting the UK’s wild spaces.

All money raised will go to support UK conservation work carried out by the Wildlife Trust.

The relay has been split into 15 sections, each with five day hikes. At the end of each section a baton, carved from a piece of locally sourced birch wood, will be handed over to those taking part in the next stage.

Lynn, a freelance outdoor educator, and the women accompanying her will pick up the baton at Bendromaig Lodge in Ross and Cromarty on June 5. She will guide walkers for the next five days over some of the most remote country on the entire trail, passing Oykel Bridge and Overscaig. Her stretch of the route ends on June 9 on reaching the Crask Inn.

Lynn has hit previously hit the headlines after winning a Royal Geographical Society award which funded her geographically themed gap year. She also won the first junior heat of the World Porridge Making Championships in 2018.

She said that the relay “carried a message of personal wellbeing and care for the environment at a time where community, collaboration, encouragement and togetherness were needed more than ever”.

Anyone interested in carrying the baton – it costs £25 to sign up for one day – or helping the team by offering lifts, bringing cake and hot drinks en route, or putting team members up for a night, should email: lynn2munro@gmail.com Sign up at: www.loveherwild.com/end2end

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