An award-winning Stewartry poet and storyteller has embarked on his second trekking expedition in a year.
Tony Bonning pushed himself to the limit last September when he and horse Chief walked 650 miles from the Mull of Galloway to Dunnet Head in Caithness.
Now he’s off on another epic journey, this time round the Isle of Skye to glean local tales and folklore for a new book about kelpies – mythical water-horses.
Speaking from Kintail on the road down to Kyle of Lochalsh, Tony told the News: “Chief and I will be circumnavigating Skye, clockwise, visiting 14 water-horse lochs.
“I’ll be telling the tales in situ and filming – and also collecting any uisge – the Gaelic for water-horse, kelpie in Scots – tales I don’t have.
“All the material will be for a book on the folktales of Skye with emphasis on kelpies.
“I hope to have the tales translated into Gaelic so it will be a bilingual volume.”
Tony and Chief have already encountered the vagaries of April weather in the Highlands with frost, snow showers and brilliant sunshine all in the mix.
And all the time Tony is conscious of the need to gather up what fragments of Gaelic kelpie stories remain if they are not to disappear forever.
He said: “It’s about saving these tales before they are lost.
“I have, over the years, collected in the region of 200 kelpie type tales which will be presented to the School of Scottish Studies as a body of work.
“The trek itself should last roughly two months at most and the road miles will be about 200.
“What will take some of the time is doing additional storytelling in schools and elsewhere.
“The final result will be a book on the folktales of Skye. That’s the plan.”
Tony, 74, added: “There are a few obstacles, the main one being the heavy tourist traffic and the midges – I’m not sure which is the worst.
“If folk know anyone who might have a paddock for the night on our clockwise route starting at Sleat, that would be of great help.
“Donations for the 3Rs horse rescue near Gatehouse are welcome.”
His south to north trek through Scotland last year raised more than £3,000 for the 3Rs.
