Friends step out in city moonlight

Two friends from Elston between them raised almost £700 by completing the Edinburgh Moonwalk.

Mrs Lesley Pearson (44) of Church View, and Mrs Mary Freer (48) of The Orchard, were among thousands who took part in the 26.2-mile walk that started at midnight.

The event is open to men and women and raises money for breast cancer awareness charities. Walkers are encouraged to wear decorated bras.

Mrs Freer, a member of Newark Notfast Running Club, said they trained for the event but even so had found it much harder than expected.

She said that was probably due to the strange sensation of walking through the night.

It took them almost eight hours to finish.

Mrs Freer said: “There was an awful lot of going up and down hills and there was one occasion when we were going down a slope and as far as the eye could see was just a sea of people which was rather special.”

The walk took them through a mixture of docklands and more scenic areas of Edinburgh.

Mrs Freer said they agreed it had been a great experience and one they would not have missed.