AN ALVA man walked 94 miles last month and extended an invite to the local community to join him on his lengthy journey.

Barry Crossley was thinking of a good way to improve his fitness levels when he stumbled upon a unique fundraising idea that would go on to involve friends, family and strangers.

The 42-year-old decided to take a jaunt up to the Scout basket on The Nebit in the Ochils to see what a walk up there would be like.

Then, thinking it was just the kind of feat he needed, he launched his Every Day in May challenge and committed to 31 days of hiking.

He said: "Initially I was going to do it as a personal challenge to myself just to get fit and lose a bit of the belly."

He figured he could go one further by giving the month of May to a local cause, providing him with further incentive to carry it on.

"[I thought] if I do that every day in May it should get me really fit," he said.

"My daughter is in the Scouts, they were having problems with their hall. I thought I could do it and raise a bit of money in the process."

Barry launched a Facebook group where he would post his walking plans ahead of time, so people could join in with him.

It was a task fitting the challenge around a fulltime job especially when, as a shift worker, he was sometimes up at 4am for an early morning.

But he did not miss a day and thankfully the May weather was kind, granting only a couple of slightly wetter days.

In all, the challenge saw him walked for a total of 32 hours and 40 minutes.

The first day he had company from anyone for his trek, it was in the form of a gentleman he did not know.

He said: "He came along and it just gained momentum from there.

"One of the days there was 15 of us up there, there was quite a big group."

Barry also relished the chance to show others the Scout fire basket, established in 2012 to celebrate the jubilee and centenary.

And he would walk to the top with a flag – further promoting his mission to raise money for the Alva Scouts.

By the end of the fundraiser his knees were sore but his fitness levels improved.

He is even tentatively eyeing up the hill race over Torry, which is part of the Alva Games next month.

He said: "It was a challenge, I feel a lot healthier for it as well.

"That's what made me think about doing the hill race and maybe doing this next year for another charity.

"A huge thank you to everybody who donated and helped support the walk, a huge thank you to them.

"It was a lot more popular than I expected it to be – we have raised more than £500."

To donate to his cause, visit his Facebook page Every Day in May.