A GROUP of Dunfermline Kiltwalkers who have raised £40,000 are hopeful of being given the go-ahead to install play equipment for disabled children in Pittencrieff Park.

Having raised thousands of pounds for a host of children’s charities by walking in 26-mile Kiltwalks across Scotland, the Dunfermline team set up their own organisation ‘Play As One Scotland’ with the ultimate aim of allowing all children the right to play together - no matter their ability.

The group, who have completed walks in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Speyside and Dundee this year, have held positive meetings with Fife Council over installing play equipment such as swings, roundabouts, a see saw and a maze with a story area to allow both able-bodied and disabled children to play together in the Glen.

A recent fancy dress party in the Glen Tavern boosted funds by a further £1041.31 and charity spokesman Mike McManus revealed that they have reached a “big milestone” in receiving a quotation to turn their plans into reality.

He said, “We’ve had a quotation from a company for our plans for the first playpark but the council, who have said yes to the idea initially, want us to use their own contractors. We would like a bigger say in who installs the equipment but that is a discussion we will have further down the line. This is our first year and we are still finding our feet so we never thought that it would be as successful.

"We’re over the moon but we want to turn the efforts of everyone who has supported us into something that they can relate to.

“The first one was always going to be in Pittencrieff Park because most of us are from Dunfermline, and that’s where we started as the Dunfermline Kiltwalkers. There are not many of these parks about; Camperdown Park in Dundee is one of the leading ones in Scotland but just has two pieces of apparatus. We believe that all children should be able to play together regardless of their ability so we hope that we can eventually extend this across Scotland.” Play As One Scotland have been announced as a partner charity for next year’s Dundee Kiltwalk and would welcome more other walkers to get involved. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/playasonescotland or www.thekiltwalk.co.uk/events-fundraising/teams/57-pa1s-play-as-one-scotland.