A Musselburgh fundraiser with multiple sclerosis (MS) is ready to make a splash with a white water rafting challenge in aid of two charities close to his heart, to mark his 60th birthday this year.

Iain Donaldson Elder, a former Musselburgh Grammar School pupil, is taking the plunge to help Leuchie House, a respite centre near North Berwick for people with MS and other long-term conditions, and the Tranent-based Walk with Scott Foundation, which supports local charities and community projects.

He said: “They are two wonderful and very important charities in East Lothian.”

Iain, accompanied by two nightshift carers from Leuchie, will travel from his home in Dunfermline to Splash White Water Rafting Canyoning at Aberfeldy in Perthshire for the challenge at the River Tay on May 12.

Iain said: “Having just become a grandad twice over the last year and had a significant birthday back in February, both age-defining moments, I have decided to challenge myself.

“These two amazing charities deserve all the support they can get for all that they do, both locally in East Lothian and, in Leuchie’s case, nationally.”

Iain’s wife Janet, known as Jaz, from Prestonpans, went to Preston Lodge High School with the late Scott Glynn, who established the Walk with Scott Foundation.

Iain added: “I became very good friends with Scott. He sadly is no longer with us but the Walk with Scott Foundation continues his magnificent work delivering much-needed support within their community.

“They have an amazing board that keeps things on track and each and every one of the members, and all of the Scotters, deserve huge praise for the work that they do, much of it unseen.”

Iain explained: “I am a regular visitor to Leuchie and I have been going to this, my spiritual home, since June 2017.

“Leuchie makes the impossible possible for me and every other guest that takes respite there.

“I have attended the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, films, theatre shows, been on memory-making trips out with friends at Leuchie, I have met alpacas, a Harris hawk, numerous TheraPet dogs and lots of local historians telling us all about subjects like the lighthouses of East Lothian and the history of the Dalrymple family, who owned Leuchie.”

He continued: “We have had some wonderful entertainers come to Leuchie over that time to sing and play for us.

“I have also met Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and Gavin Hastings, former Scotland rugby captain, who is a patron for Leuchie.

“So, all in all, over my stays in the last five years, we’ve had a fairly busy time, bearing in mind that two of those years were during the Covid- 19 pandemic when Leuchie was able to do very little due to healthcare regulations.”

Iain added: “This is my first time white water rafting. I did a microlight flight with Leuchie back in 2018 and I don’t perceive this to be as scary as that, although I do admit that, as it gets closer, I am getting a little nervous, never having had this sort of experience before.

“But MS seems to have that effect on anything new that I try.”

To donate to Iain’s challenge, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/iain-elder