Craig Ferguson; Credit: Monument Media

Scottish football supporter Craig Ferguson is currently undertaking a 1,000-mile (1,600-km) charity walk from Glasgow to Munich, via the Benelux countries.

The goal of this solo walk is to raise funds for Brothers in Arms, a Glasgow-based men’s mental health charity.

Craig Ferguson’s journey began on Saturday 4 May 2024, departing from Hampden Park in Glasgow, and is set to end in time for the Germany v Scotland UEFA EURO opening match on Friday 14 June 2024. Apart from taking the Hull-Rotterdam ferry, he is completing every mile on foot, with the journey taking him through Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Locals and passersby may recognise the Scotland supporter along the way as he is completing the journey in his kilt.

Speaking to Chronicle.lu about the motivation behind this challenge, Craig Ferguson noted that it had started off as a “tongue-in-cheek joke” with a friend. Upon further reflection and planning, however, he realised “this is something that I really, really need to do”, particularly being able to “fundraise for such an amazing cause”. He added that one of his driving factors was: “I'm never going to be this young, this fit again, so I thought, while I still am and while I can move my body, put it to the test and really just challenge myself, and it's going to be a journey that I never forget.”

The solo mission is self-funded by Craig, with the support of Brothers in Arms; there are no corporate sponsors. At the time of writing, Craig has raised more than £27,000 for his chosen charity via JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/page/iwouldwalk1000milesformensmentalhealth. He described the fundraising so far as “nothing short of amazing”, adding that the support he has received along the way has been “just brilliant” and friendly interactions have “helped motivate me all the way through”.

Regarding the choice of charity, Craig said he felt that “men's mental health is a real issue that just isn't spoken about enough”. He noted that about twelve men a day commit suicide in the United Kingdom. “If I can do anything along the way to spread a bit of positivity and awareness for the topic of men's mental health, then I'll be super proud,” he said.

In terms of planning and training, Craig explained that he had had to first plan the route and ensure it was possible to “walk from point A to point B” each day (avoiding motorways, etc.).

After walking through the Netherlands and Belgium, Craig will be arriving in Luxembourg on Saturday 25 May 2024. He plans to spend the first night in Weiswampach, before moving south, spending one night in Mersch. He is set to arrive in Luxembourg City on Monday 27 May 2024, spending the night in the capital before crossing the border into Germany the following day. Commenting on the Luxembourg leg of his journey, Craig shared: “This will be my very first time in Luxembourg. I love to travel, travel has always been a passion of mine, so getting to tick off a new country along the way was something that really excited me, and I'm really, really looking forward to exploring the beautiful country.”

Looking ahead to the end of his fundraising challenge, Craig commented: “Honestly, I can't wait for the match day against Germany. I think it's going to be a really, really special day for me”, both in terms of seeing Scotland play “for the first time properly in an international tournament” (EURO 2020 had been “clouded with COVID”) but also “after completing this journey, to go and watch my team play will just be incredible”.

Asked what message he hoped people would take away from his initiative, Craig noted that “you're only young once and everyone has crazy ideas, and if you don't ever do your ideas, then […] what's the point in life. […] Because […] when you're 80 years old, you would give absolutely anything to be this young, to be this fit, to be this care-free again”. He concluded with the advice: “Don't let things hold you back, and take life a little less seriously, and just go out and do everything that you want to do.”

(Photo credit: Monument Media)