Kirkcaldy salon team puts best feet forward for Maggie's

Byron hairdressing team from Kirkcaldy are preparing to walk the Lairig Ghru in aid of Maggie's.

The team at Byron Hairdressing are downing tools and pulling on their walking boots to prove they will go the extra mile for Maggie's Fife.

The date – June 19 – is set for their bi-annual super-challenge when they will navigate past the Cairngorm peaks of Ben Macdui and Braerich, passing the broken cliffs of Lurcher’s Crag and the haunting Pools of Dee to conquer the Lairig Ghru pass.

“It’s a little intimidating,” admits owner Ronnie Marshall, who has been training for the event alongside stylists, receptionists and assistants since February.

“But that makes everyone pull together even more, spurring each other on and giving encouragement. When our receptionist Diane Mullen suggested it, everyone embraced the idea wholeheartedly.

“As with our previous charity challenges, though, there is no question of it being mandatory; those not comfortable walking up mountains plan to help out in other roles like transport and giving moral support. We are doing this as team.”

Every year, the team organises an event to raise money for its adopted charity, Maggie’s Centres, with a super challenge every second year, and over the past decade it has raised nearly £30,000.

This year’s challenge is the most gruelling yet as the team lace up their walking boots for an assault on the Lairig Ghru, a pass through some of the wildest, most inhospitable mountains in Scotland.

They will walk 19 miles from Braemar to Aviemore, scrambling over boulders, fording rivers and traversing through forests, climbing to a height of 895 metres, taking around 10 hours.

Visit www.justgiving.com/Byron-Hairdressing1 to donate or pop into the salon.