Ayr guest house owner to walk Great Wall of China

May 28 2008 By Stuart Wilson, Ayrshire Post

A GUEST house owner will swap home comforts to trek along the Great Wall of China.

But Linda Galli admits to being terrified because she’s never even been on a hillwalk.

Linda, 42, and best pal Eileen Frater will tackle the fearsome 120km challenge along gruelling terrain.

And Linda, who’s not seen a sleeping bag in her life, will spend every night camping in remote Chinese settlements.

She laughed: “It seemed a good idea at the time but I’m now terrifying myself at the thought.”

The girls are aiming to raise £10,000 for the Ayrshire Hospice on their marathon journey.

But they admit there’s a huge gulf in experience when it comes to pulling on the walking boots.

Linda, who owns the Daviot guest house in Ayr, said: “I was dragged into it by Eileen because she wanted someone to laugh at.

“She’s been all around the world on walks and this is the latest of her projects.

“For me it’s just a huge personal challenge and I’d got to the stage in life where I really wanted to test myself.

“My mum and dad both died suddenly and I never got the chance to say goodbye, so I want to raise money for the hospice and give others a chance to do that properly.”

Next door neighbour Eileen, 48, owns the Queens guest house and is ready to pull her pal along China’s great wall.

She quipped: “The only reason I’m doing it is for Linda’s fear factor.

“The Great Wall of China has been on my tick sheet for a long time but I’ll get a great laugh out of taking Linda with me.

“We’ll get looked after by the locals while camping out on the remote parts of the wall where even the tourists aren’t allowed to go.”

And the girls are planning a number of fundraising efforts before they head off to tackle one of the wonders of the world.

Linda revealed: “We’re making bags of tablet like it’s going out of fashion and plan to climb Goatfell in nun’s outfits — and that’s just the start of it.”

To sponsor the girls, visit www.justgiving.com/eileenandlinda