28/04/2026
‼️🎉Our Superhero fundraisers Jane & Dookers are on countdown to starting their Vatersay to Butt walking challenge on Friday! 🥳‼️
Good Luck from all at Stornoway RNLI 😘🤩
Jane is walking again in aid of Stornoway RNLI – and this time she’s taking on the whole of the Western Isles!
Setting off on May 1st, Stornoway RNLI Fundraiser Jane Maciver, alongside her trusty four-legged companion Dooker, are set to take on the challenge of walking 169miles from Barra to the Butt of Lewis. They are set to start their challenge in Vatersay, and are reversing the Stornoway to Ness section, so as to finish at Stornoway RNLI station.
“All being well with the ferries, we’ll start on May 1st,” Jane said. “I’ll be starting to walk as soon as I’m off the Barra ferry and head down to Bagh a’Deas. The next morning I go over to Eriskay and start making my way north from then. I have two weeks off work, but I’m hoping that I’ll finish the following Saturday.”
No stranger to taking a walk to raise funds, over the years Jane has completed a virtual Land’s End to John O’Groats challenge of 864 miles, and a virtual TransEurope walk of 1,600 miles amongst others. She also repeated Land’s End to Joh O’Groats as part of the STYLEJOG2024 fundraising team, this time adding to clock up a total of 1,000miles, the equivalent of Land’s End to Shetland.
Her 2026 Barra to Butt fundraiser may be of shorter distance, but comes with different challenges, as Jane explained: “The others were just one-offs or were a virtual target, so I just chipped away at it over the year. This one though I’ve been trying to build up my stamina – I’m used to big walks, but not getting up and doing them again the next day.”
Starting training at the beginning of the year, Jane also hit another physical, and mental, hurdle – the weather! “I started in January once the snow and ice went,” she said. “It was nice for a week or so, but then from February it has been pretty much relentless, and some days just broke my spirit slightly!
“The weather made it hard to get motivated, to go out when all you can hear is the rain and the hail took some effort. And Dooker does not help. He’s worse than me, if he hears bad weather he does not want to go out, so no, he does not encourage me!” Jane laughed.
She added: “We’ve also had to get both myself and Dooker comfortable with walking with traffic beside us and where there are no pavements. It can be hard, although most people are careful, at time it can be a bit scary.”
A big challenge ahead, but one that Jane is well-equipped to undertake, having raised over £35,000 in total for Stornoway RNLI over the past two decade. In 2024, Jane’s outstanding dedication to fundraising was officially recognised by award of the RNLI Certificate in Excellence of Volunteering, and she attended by invitation the Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in celebration of the RNLI’s 200th Anniversary.
2024 also marked the 20th anniversary of Jane’s sad loss, when her partner Craig Duffy, a fisherman, was lost at sea. It was what prompted Jane to first become involved with the lifesaving charity, and his memory keeps her going still: “After Craig’s accident they were all so good to me. They were there for me, not just the crew, but the whole island it felt like, and that gave me focus and helped me carry on. I just want to give back as they give plenty of themselves,” she said.
“The RNLI is such a worthy cause – I may feel miserable walking out in the rain and hail, but these guys go out and risk their lives at sea to save others in all weathers. If they can do that, I can do a few hours in the rain!”
Jane is also very thankful for the support she has received while out training, as she added: “People are amazing! There are folks who have stopped their cars when I’m out walking in the rain to check I’m okay and ask if I need a lift, water or a coffee. I do like to see people’s expressions when they see me walking in random places – it has given me a much-needed chuckle on some days!
“I couldn’t do this if not for the kindness and support, and to know people have donated gives a lot of motivation for me to get it done. Everyone’s thoughtfulness, the wee waves and hellos, that’s what definitely gets me through the tough days and it is what will get me through this challenge.”
So, if you see the brilliant Jane and Dooker walking across the isles, please do make sure to give her a wave. And you can donate to Jane’s Barra to Butt challenge online via JustGiving at: www.justgiving.com/page/jane-maciver-8
