TWO best pals whose parents battled heart issues have scaled Ben Nevis to raise cash for others in the same situation.
David White, from Bearsden, and Joe Devlin, from Drumchapel, have been friends and colleagues since meeting as apprentice engineers 26 years ago.
To celebrate their landmark friendship, the pair opted to take on a fundraising mission of walking the West Highland Way and a 96-mile trek up the famous mountain for Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland.
The dynamic duo's inspiration came from their own parents with David's dad having two heart attacks in early 50s - before going on to have a quadruply bypass at age 52 thirty years ago.
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While 43-year-old Joe's mum had heart stents fitted and was living with COPD before she passed away six years ago.
David, 42, said: “I’ve climbed the odd Munro at the weekend, but doing 12-hour walking days back to back was something else. We had to get up at 6am and be on the route from then until 7pm at night. It was brutal at times, but we battled on.
“We did it in the four days and finished by climbing Ben Nevis. That was as tough as anything we’d already done. There was blazing sunshine at the foot of the mountain, then the next thing we were shrouded in mist. But it was a real buzz to reach the top.”
“We wanted to choose a charity that meant something to both of us, and CHSS fitted the bill. The conditions you deal with have affected people in our lives, but they’re not always talked about or remembered when people do charity events.”
The pair raised more than £2,100 for charity and now, their employer the Edrington Group has promised to match their donation.
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Dad-of-two Joe added: “When we were younger, we went on holiday and spent a lot of time together, but now we both have families and meeting up outside work becomes harder in our hectic lives.
“Doing the West Highland Way seemed like a great way of doing something we both enjoy and getting a catch-up of the good times over the last 25 years.
To support the duo, visit their JustGiving page here.
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