A charity is getting people to follow in the footsteps of James Watt.
Greenock-based World Walking is setting up a “virtual walk” on its website featuring key areas linked with the Scottish inventor.
People will be asked to regularly log their real daily steps (in their local communities) to eventually complete the 722-mile online route. See https://worldwalking.org/jameswatt
and https://worldwalking.org/walks/explore/uzmdle
The charity has been working with the local Kilmacolm Primary School to set up the trail – which will feature: Watt’s birthplace of Greenock, as well as Glasgow, Kinneil House in Bo’ness, London, the Crofton Pumping Station in Wiltshire, and the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.
World Walking plans to trial the route with the Kilmacolm children starting next month (November) and then formally launch the trail in January 2019 – Watt’s birthday – supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Great Place Scheme.
Duncan Galbraith from World Walking said: “Our plan is to publish the James Watt walk so the pupils of Kilmacolm Primary School can pilot it using the miles they walk at school.”
He added: “We’ve also been in touch with James Watt Primary School in Birmingham who are planning their own celebrations using Heritage Lottery Funding and they are keen to make links with Kilmacolm Primary School, which should be fun.
“I am hoping this will attract interest from other schools, too.”
Duncan hopes taking part in the project will inspire people – including the children – to actually explore some of the real sites linked with James Watt.
He added: “World Walking allows people to use the steps they walk to complete virtual journeys around some of the world’s most interesting and beautiful places.”
Find out more at https://worldwalking.org/
James Watt 