Watch: Glasgow sees the launch of the The Great Big Walk

The walkers get ready for their mission, with a little help from the Glasgow sunshine (Gillian Furmage/DC Thomson)

THE BIG LUNCH has kicked off an exciting new initiative in the Glasgow sunshine, The Great Big Walk. Here’s hoping the lovely weather holds out for them!

The idea will see five teams of walkers make their way across the UK, connecting people and celebrating community.

Every day, the walkers and their supporters will visit different community projects and will spend time with the extraordinary people who go the extra mile to bring communities together.

Setting off from Batley, West Yorkshire, where the late Jo Cox was MP, five teams of walkers will ‘head home’ in time to join The Big Lunch as the highlight of The Great Get Together celebrations inspired by Jo Cox, and marking the first anniversary of her death 16-18 June.

The walk will reach Dumfries on 6^th June and will continue through Scotland until 18 June.

Refuweegee volunteer Yaman Shalaan will be one of the walkers in Scotland. His journey will be quite a challenge as he’ll also be observing Ramadan over the two days.

He said: “The people that we meet and work with everyday have been forcibly displaced from their homes and have often had to make long and hard journeys to safety. We are looking forward to using our time walking The Great Big Walk as a time to reflect on this and are delighted to be doing it as a group which is reflective of the collective community that Refuweegee is.”

Each day the walkers will stop in a different community to shine a light on ordinary people doing amazing projects and organising events that bring communities together.

Over the course of 10 days, the walkers will visit ten National Lottery funded projects in Scotland. Martin Cawley, Big Lottery Fund Scotland director, added: “Thanks to money generated by National Lottery players, The Great Big Walk is connecting people and communities across the UK. We are excited to be inviting the walkers to visit some amazing Scottish projects, created by and for local people, and share their experiences with others.”

Walk locations will include: