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Woman who has endured three cancers completes 141-hill challenge

Andrew ThomsonBBC Scotland News
News imageLorraine McCall A woman in a red jacket is standing with her arms outstretched to celebrate reaching another summit. The sky is very blue with white clouds and a brown and white dog is next to her investigating a rucksackLorraine McCall
Lorraine McCall said that being out in the hills was "good for the soul".

A woman who has had three different cancers has completed her latest major hillwalking challenge.

Lorraine McCall, who is 61 and lives near Kirkhill, climbed all of Scotland's "Donalds" over a four-week period after previously completing all the Munros, Corbetts and Grahams.

She travelled by bike and wild camped while climbing to the 141 summits, some which are difficult to access.

Donalds are hills in the Scottish Lowlands that are more than 2,000ft (610m).

News imageLorraine McCall A woman is standing in the sunshine under a clear sky. She is smiling and is wearing a blue and red jacket and has a dark blue band holding back her brown hair.Lorraine McCall
Lorraine McCall said cancer diagnosis made her determined to "appreciate the moment".

McCall has had breast cancer and two bowel cancers which have left her with lasting health issues including with her breathing.

But she said it had increased her determination to get outdoors and "appreciate the moment".

She completed all the Munros in 2005, then the Corbetts in 2014 before doing the Grahams in 2024.

McCall said she "didn't want to wait another 10 years" before her next challenge so set off to complete the Donalds in May before the midges took hold.

News imageLorraine McCall A woman in a purple jacket is studying a map planning a walking route. She is wearing glasses and is holding a pencil to annotate the map.Lorraine McCall
Some of the Donalds are in remote locations without well defined paths.

She finished them in four weeks, upping her pace with 12 hours days in the final week when the weather took a turn for the worse.

"Lots of people who know the Donalds say they are awful, really hard underfoot," she said.

"But I think the Grahams had been really good training for that because they are pretty pathless as well.

"I am used to walking off track now and really enjoy doing that."

McCall said walking in Galloway had been a highlight of the trip.

"There are a few mountains in the middle there, Mullwharchar, Craignaw and Dungeon hill. They are really difficult to reach but it's such a beautiful spot."

"I loved the combination of being on my own for a while but then friends coming to join me - that just felt great."

News imageLorraine McCall Four women are standing in front of a stone wall in a forest. They are wearing waterproof jackets and it appears to be raining but they all have big smiles. Lorraine McCall
Friends joined Lorraine McCall for some sections of her journey.

McCall said doing walking challenges made life simple and it was a "very sensual experience".

"You live in the present and I don't think we get the chance to do that so often. That becomes quite addictive," she said.

"If you have been through really bad weather then that first little bit of sunshine feels like the best bit of sunshine ever."

She added: "The world is all a bit mad just now so I feel like I have escaped that for a while.

"Listening to the birds and feeling the moss beneath your feet. All those things are good for the soul.

"Nobody knows how long they have so I just appreciate being out there."