National Trust for Scotland Director runs virtual London Marathon for charity appeal

National Trust for Scotland (NTS) Director Mark Bishop has run the virtual London Marathon to raise money for the charity.

Mark Bishop at the finish.

Mr Bishop raised almost £1,500 for the Save Our Scotland appeal set up by the NTS to help the charity recover from the Covid-19 lockdown.

The appeal has so far raised over £3.4 million in total. The charity has said it expects to lose £28 million in income this year.

Mr Bishop ran the 26.2 miles at the weekend in the pouring rain, mostly during the pre-dawn darkness on Sunday to be back before his family woke up.

His time was just under six hours.

The route took him past several NTS properties, from Malleny Garden close to his in Colinton to Newhailes in Musselburgh, before coming up the Royal Mile to Gladstone’s Land and past the Georgian House at Charlotte Square.

He said: “I wanted to play my part in responding to the Trust’s SOS to its members and the wider Scottish public. Seeing so many donations roll in, alongside the funds from Scottish Government, made me feel compelled to stride out myself and raise funds too.

"The Trust is here to provide us all with amazing stories and places to experience. I’ve walked around most of what the Trust looks after but not run between them before.

"I’m hoping we can get more people to want to run or cycle between Trust properties in the future so that we become a good excuse for exercise as well as great experiences.”

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