John and Danni Allan, who run the Alford Bistro, are embarking on the 95-mile walk along the West Highland Way from Glasgow to Fort William next week.

John (46) and Danni (42) will be joined on the walk by their three children Kirsty (15), Jake (14) and Bobbie (11), along with their one-year-old cocker spaniel Sasha.

The Allan family hope to raise over £1,000 for the Alford Christmas Lights Appeal by completing the challenge.

John said: "We have raised about £800 so far and we are hoping to get well into the four figure sum by the time we have completed the walk. The good people of Alford have been very generous.

"The Christmas lights are a good idea and the community seems to be keen to get them. Apparently it will cost about £7,000 to buy them and there's a few more charity events planned so hopefully together we will manage to hit that target."

The Allan family will start the walk next Monday (June 29) and hope to be finished on July 6.

John added: "We do quite a bit of walking whenever we get the chance. We climbed Ben Nevis earlier this year and we are often out at the local hills. Danni, my wife, is super fit but I weigh 17 stone so I'm hoping this challenge will help me burn a few pounds!

"On average, we will be walking 13 and a half miles each of the days, although one of the days will be a pretty gruelling 18.7 miles. We are taking the cocker spaniel with us so we had to pick hotels that welcomed pets.

"Most people think you should be relaxing by the pool when you are on holiday but we like to keep active. It is our way of unwinding from the pressures of running the bistro."

The Alford Bistro will remain open seven days a week during the day while the Allans are away but will be closed in the evenings.

Anybody who would like to donate can do so at the restaurant.