A MEDICAL student is spending her summer walking 500 miles to raise funds for a charity set up following the death of her younger sister.

Nina Young has laced up her walking boots and aims to complete the picturesque North Coast 500 in aid of the Teapot Trust.

The charity was founded by her mum and dad, Laura and John, nearly 10 years ago after the death of their daughter Verity.

The eight-year-old spent much of her short life in hospital coping with illness and managing the effects of her treatment, first for lupus and then for cancer.

Art gave Verity a way of expressing herself and was an essential coping strategy for the whole family, so John and Laura wanted to help other children and families who were struggling.

Nina, who has been joined by friends and university coursemates during her fundraiser, said: “As a medical student, I really see how mental health takes a knock when you have physical health conditions to live with, every day of your life, constantly on medication or injections.

“The Teapot Trust’s art therapy sessions really build great coping strategies for kids and so I am delighted that the money I am raising is going towards that.”

Nina left her home in Gullane at the end of last month to head to the starting point of Inverness.

From there, she has headed north, covering an average of 15 miles (24 kilometres) each day.

She spoke to the Courier while walking between Melvich and Strathy, on Scotland’s north coast, last Tuesday morning.

The 20-year-old said: “With people doing lots of challenges during lockdown and raising money for charity, I thought: ‘If they can do it, why can’t I?’

“My flatmate and I had planned to drive the North Coast 500 before lockdown and that did not happen.

“My sister Isla, she loves the song I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers and I was thinking what I could do for the Teapot Trust.

“It is a small charity and struggling for funds with the pandemic.”

The former Gullane Primary School and Loretto School pupil set off from Inverness on July 29.

However, not everything has been straightforward along the way.

She said: “On day three, we were coming down a hill and my knee twisted.

“I thought that was it.

“I made it to the next campsite and the next day I could not finish the walk.

“A friend had come up to help take our bags for a day and he gave me a lift and my friend finished the day off.

“I was worried it was all over but we’ve survived with ice, ibuprofen and a knee brace.

“It has got better, especially as you get the distance and you are making progress.”

Originally, Nina set a fundraising target of £10,000 before she set off for the Highlands.

Already, that target has been smashed, with the University of Edinburgh student hoping to complete the route by the end of the month.

She said: “It seemed like a lot of money.

“We have broken it already, which is pretty cool.

“We have been amazed by the kindness of people donating and it is a great motivation.

“I get an email every time someone donates and you get a little ‘ping’ on your phone.

“It is worth the sore feet and hopefully it keeps coming in.”

The Teapot Trust, which is based in Musselburgh, has helped more than 12,000 children and young people in Scotland since its launch, giving them art therapy sessions.

Nina said of her late sister: “Verity was so bubbly. I was quite young as well – I was nine years old when she died.

“Everything was fine and OK in some ways because I was young and sheltered from the stress of the hospital.”

To support the good cause, go to www.teapot-trust.org/fundraisers/we-will-walk-500-miles