AES Solar complete their overnight walk on the Summer Solstice to raise funds for a local charity!
A team of AES Solar staff walked the Moray Coast Trail overnight on Wednesday the 21st of June. The Moray Coast Trail is a long-distance path in North-East Scotland. It runs along the coastline of the Moray Council area. The route, which is 72 km long (44.9 miles), runs between Cullen and Forres.
BOW FIDDLE ROCK, PORTKNOCKIE
The team completed the walk in stages as smaller groups in a relay format. The walk took place on the Summer Solstice to celebrate our role as Scottish solar specialists. This also provided the teams with as much light possible on the “longest day/shortest night of the year”. What a way to welcome the first official day of summer!
ICE CREAMS AND SUNSHINE FOR GROUP 1 COMMENCING THE WALK IN CULLEN
Group 1: Cullen – Buckie
Group 1 consisted of Lynn, Martina, Maloa, Chloe and Kiera. The group set off from Cullen around 6.00 PM. Though of course, a visit to the Ice Cream Shop in Cullen was required before heading off! The 12km hike involved walking past the iconic Bow Fiddle Rock and required a quick scramble across the rocks before arriving at Buckie.
WELCOME TO BUCKIE!
Group 2: Buckie – Lossiemouth
It was here that they passed on the “baton” of the AES Solar flag when they met up with Group 2 ready and raring to go. Group 2 consisted of Matthew, Jordan Mac and Kyle This group would be walking the largest section of the route, totalling 25.25km from Buckie to Lossiemouth. They also had the challenge of walking after sunset and through the night!
GROUP 1 AND GROUP 2 PASS THE BATON (FLAG) IN BUCKIE
Luckily the lads were more than up to the challenge, even if the last 5km did involve a dash over the beach shingles. We’re sure they were relieved when they eventually got home to their beds…even if they did take half the sand of the Moray Coast Trail home with them!
Group 3: Lossiemouth – Burghead
GROUP 2 AND GROUP 3 IN LOSSIEMOUTH
On (finally) reaching Lossiemouth, the weary Group 2 waved off Group 3 as they set off ready to take on the next leg. This group was made up of Campbell, Laurie, Cameron and Mel…and of course, who could forget Nala! This group would be walking from Lossiemouth to Burghead and benefited the most from the early sunrise of the summer solstice. This also meant they got to witness the stunning sunset coming up over the horizon of the Moray Firth.
GROUP 3 ON THEIR SUNRISE SECTION OF THE MORAY COAST TRAIL
Group 4: Burghead – Forres
With the sun well in the sky by the time they reached Burghead, the flag was passed on to Group 4. Group 4 was made up of Stuart, Rebecca, Peter, Andrew and Pia with the welcome addition of Laurie who was not satisfied with only completing one leg of the walk! Although the last leg of the day, this group had the second longest distance to walk coming in at 20.5km and had to contend with the warmth of the June sunshine. This was made up for however by being met back at the office with a welcome committee, bacon rolls and cupcakes!
GROUP 4 TAKE OVER FROM GROUP 3 IN BURGHEAD FOR THE NEXT LEG OF THE WALK
With our varying experience and fitness levels amongst the team, this made for a great fundraising opportunity. AES Solar have a proud history of fundraising challenges. This includes the Three Peaks Challenge in 2018 which raised over £3,500 for the British Heart Foundation. We also walked The Dava Way in 2019 for our 40th year in business raising £2390 for SAMH. However, due to the covid-19 pandemic, we had to put a pause on our larger fundraising activities.
ROSEISLE BEACH
REAP Scotland
With that in mind, we have decided to dedicate any fundraising efforts raised during this challenge towards our charity of the year REAP – (Rural Environmental Action Project). REAP is a local environmental and sustainable development charity based in Keith, Moray.
The charity looks forward to a world where everyone can afford to heat their homes, eat well and benefit from a healthy and sustainable environment. They work towards this by delivering projects and services to meet local needs and aims, including local food and free and impartial energy advice. This charity is doing incredibly important work with the cost of living crisis. They focus on areas that are close to our hearts and align with our own values.
We are currently just 5% away from our fundraising goal! We understand times are hard, therefore we kindly ask anyone who feels able to spare a donation, no matter how small it may seem, to give what they can to our JustGiving page.
FINDHORN
Message from the CSR Committee
The AES Solar CSR Committee said of the challenge:
“We are so proud of all the staff who took part in this challenge. It wasn’t always easy (especially for the staff walking through the night) but the camaraderie and group spirit were certainly felt by all. The donations we received in the run-up to the walk also gave us that well-needed boost. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your support, generosity and kind words. Every donation no matter how big or small has contributed to our fantastic total so far. And this inspired and motivated us through every step of our midnight march fundraiser for REAP. The Just Giving page will stay open for the foreseeable future who anyone who hasn’t managed to donate yet – thank you.”
