PICTURES: Lybster man’s close shave with venomous snake that took a fancy to him on 222-mile chopper charity bike ride
A Lybster man raised over £3000 for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) and talked about his close shave with a poisonous adder that took a fancy to him on the Camster road.
Kenny Gunn undertook a cycle ride around his local area last year and was “over the moon” to raise the grand amount of £2269 for SCAA. This time, however, he upped the ante and declared that the overall amount raised for the chopper charity this year now stands at £3152 after a donation of £50 came in a few days ago.
Kenny undertook a ‘100 miles in May’ fundraising challenge in which participants commit to walking, running, or otherwise covering 100 miles throughout the month of May.
“I did it in October last year and decided to do it again, managing to complete 222 miles this time around,” said the 70-year-old.
“I thought I’d never make the same amount as last year, as we’re a small village. If it was a few hundred pounds, I’d be happy with that, but couldn’t believe it when it reached over £3000.”
Kenny said he travelled down to Scone after donating the cash and was congratulated by the SCAA personnel at their base. “I met the people who do the work and they were such lovely folks. They showed me the helicopter and explained what they did. It was all such a humbling experience and I was absolutely delighted with it all.
“I cannot thank people enough for supporting me and leaving lovely comments. I say that ‘I’ve raised’ the amount, but it should be ‘we’ve raised’ as I couldn’t have done it without the support of the community.”
There was a JustGiving fundraising page that raised 112 per cent of its target, reaching £565, but over and above that, Kenny received donations from friends, family, old work colleagues and people he “just bumped into” that were happy to sponsor him.
His routes were generally in and around the village of Lybster, and one particular day he was on the singletrack road from Occumster to Watten, known locally as the Camster road, when he encountered a venomous snake.
“It was just slithering out as I passed, so I stopped and took a picture. It’s only the second time I’ve seen an adder. He seemed to take a notion to me, but I didn’t want to wait around too long as he came towards me,” laughed Kenny.
The common European adder, or viper, is not regarded as especially dangerous; the snake is not aggressive and usually bites only when really provoked, stepped on, or picked up. Bites can be very painful, but are seldom fatal.
Kenny also took his hybrid electric assist bike down to Inverness in his caravan and cycled along the banks of the Caledonian Canal. “When I looked around, there was Thurso lifeboat, which must have been down for a refit and heading home. Was a bit strange seeing it there.”
Kenny said that he bought his bike during the Covid lockdown period and has done over 3000 miles on it. “Wind and hills are much better with the electric bike. You can go down a hill knowing you can come up the other side.
“Some days, up that Camster road, it would start off lovely and there would be a bit of breeze on your face, but then you turn and the wind’s really strong so you have to pedal a fair bit.
“I might be getting on a bit now, but it just shows what you can achieve at this age!”
SCAA is the only charity-funded air ambulance service north of the border. It relies on public support to keep it flying and responding to time-critical emergencies wherever they occur in Scotland.
The SCAA states: “No one in Scotland should die because help can't get there in time.”
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